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NAPOLEON THE THIRD 
THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR 




NAPOLEON THE THIRD 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 



THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR 



BY 

WALTER GEER 



ILLUSTRATED 



A 




NEW rORK : BRENTANaS 
1920 



*■> 



^'V 



COPYRIGHT 1920, BV 
WALTER GEER 



All rights reserved 



DEC -7 1920 
O)CI,A604460 



FOREWORD 

NEARLY fifty years have elapsed since the 
death of Napoleon the Third at Chislehurst 
in January 1873, and it seems as though the 
time had now arrived for an unprejudiced story of his 
career. After the catastrophe of Sedan, there was a 
violent reaction in France from the Napoleonic idola- 
try of the Second Empire. Condemnation ran to as 
great an extreme as worship had gone before. The 
Napoleonic legend was torn to tatters, and the central 
figure of its revival was held responsible for all the 
misfortunes of "Tannee terrible." From an over-rated 
hero. Napoleon the Third was transformed into an 
equally impossible demon. Time has now checked the 
reaction, and softened the rage of the iconoclasts. 
The wrong of the Peace of Frankfort has been undone, 
and the glorious tricolor of the Empire and the Re- 
public once more floats over the "lost provinces" of 
Alsace and Lorraine. 

While Napoleon the Third possessed but little of the 
administrative ability, and none of the military genius, 
of the Great Emperor, he certainly was far from de- 
serving the title of "Napoleon the Little" bestowed 
upon him by Victor Hugo. Compared with the leaders 
of public opinion in other countries during his time, 
with Cavour in Italy, with Disraeli and Gladstone in 
England, even with Bismarck in Prussia, he cannot 
be considered inferior. Time has shown the "Iron 



FOREWORD 

Chancellor '* of Germany in his true proportions. The 
German propaganda is better understood now than it 
was a few years ago. In his memoirs Bismarck has re- 
lated cynically, and even vauntingly, the story of the 
falsified Ems dispatch, which precipitated the Franco- 
Prussian war, the whole blame for which at the time, 
and for years afterwards, was laid at the door of 
France. 

In the days of disaster which followed, with equal 
injustice, all the misfortunes of France were attrib- 
uted to the Imperial regime. The Nation, which had 
refused to provide for adequate military prepared- 
ness, threw the whole blame upon the Emperor. If the 
French eagles had been borne in triumph to Berlin, 
as after Jena in 1806, Napoleon the Third would have 
been acclaimed by all the world as the worthy suc- 
cessor of Napoleon the Great. Because, prematurely 
old, and already suffering from a mortal malady, he 
failed, the world united to decry and belittle him. 

But, whatever the final verdict of History may be, 
upon these controverted points, there can be no doubt 
as to the fact that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was one 
of the dominating personalities of the great Nine- 
teenth Century, and one of the most interesting char- 
acters in history. The story of his life reads like the 
pages of a great historical novel, and may well be 
called The Romance of an Emperor. 

Walter Geer 

New York, August, 1920 



Cvi] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER ONE 

1804-1808 

THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

PAGE 

Louis Bonaparte — Hoftense de Beauharnals — The Em- 
press Josephine — Marriage of Louis and Hortense — 
Birth of Napoleon Charles — The Problem of Suc- 
cession — Birth of Napoleon Louis — The King and 
Queen of Holland — Death of Napoleon Charles 
— The Baths of Cauterets — The Verhuell Calumny 3 

CHAPTER TWO 

1808-1815 

CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

Birth of Louis Napoleon — Holland Annexed to the Em- 
pire — Separation of Louis and Hortense — Flahaut 
and Morny — The Hundred Days — Departure of 
Napoleon — Josephine's Estate — Malmaison and 
Saint-Leu. — Hortense in Exile 16 

CHAPTER THREE 

1815-1831 

LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

Exile at Constance — The Chateau of Arenenberg — Char- 
acter of Hortense — Education of a Prince — At Augs- 
burg and Thun — Death of Eugene — The July Revolu- 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 
tion — The Italian Insurrection — Death of Napoleon 
Louis — Flight from Ancona to Paris — Louis 
Philippe — First Visit to England — Return to 
Arenenberg 28 

CHAPTER FOUR 

1831-1836 

YEARS OF WAITING 

Life at Arenenberg — Death of the Duke of Reichstadt — 
Louis Napoleon Head of His Party — Captain Bona- 
parte at Thun — Political Activity — Visitors at the 
Chateau — Interview with La Fayette 48 

CHAPTER FIVE 

1836-1837 

THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

Revival of the Napoleonic Legend — The July Monarchy 

— Persigny at Arenenberg — Preparations at Baden 

— Eleonore Brault — Precedent of the Return from 
Elba — The Meeting at Strasbourg — The Thirtieth 
October — End of the Great Adventure — Hortense 
Rushes to Paris — Clemency of the King — Banish- 
ment to America — Days in New York — Return to 
Arenenberg — Death of Hortense 59 

CHAPTER SIX 

1837-1840 

THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

Last Days at Arenenberg — Maxims and Will of Hortense 

— Departure from Switzerland — Residence in London 

— Preparations for Boulogne — The Napoleonic Propa- 

C viii 3 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 
ganda — Departure of the Expedition — Landing in 
France — The Second Fiasco — Arrest, of the Conspir- 
ators — Trial by the Chamber of Peers — Sentenced 
to Perpetual Imprisonment — The Remains of Napo- 
leon Brought Home from Saint Helena 78 



CHAPTER SEVEN 

1840-1846 

PRISONER OF STATE 

The Chateau of Ham — Life in Prison — Literary Pas- 
times — A Prison Romance — The Crazy Duke of 
Brunswick — The Escape from Ham — Second Resi- 
dence in London — The Affair with Miss Howard — 
The Princesse Marie de Bade — Death of King Louis. 95 

CHAPTER EIGHT 

1846-1848 

REVOLUTION OF 1848 

Awaiting the Call of Destiny — Government of Louis 
Philippe — The Mehemet Ali AiFair — Ministry of 
Guizot — The February Revolution — Flight of the 
King — The Provisional Government — The June 
Riots — Louis Napoleon at Paris — Elected to the 
Assembly — A Crucial Moment — The New Constitu- 
tion — Candidate for the Presidency — Triumphant 
Election — Inaugurated as President of the Republic . . 113 



Cix] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER NINE 

1848-1852 

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

PAGE 

The Elysee Palace — The Prince Plans a Coup d'Etat — 
Strength of the Monarchial Party — The June Insur- 
rection — Franchise Law of 1850 — The President and 
the Assembly — Removal of General Cfiangarnier 
— The Coup d'Etat — The Second of December — 
The Two Following Days — Verdict of the Nation — 
The New Constitution — Old Debts Paid — Last 
Year of the Republic — The Plebescite — The Empire 
Proclaimed 126 

CHAPTER TEN 

1853 

EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

First Year of the Empire — Napoleon the Third and the 
Great Powers — Lord Cowley's Anecdote — Final 
Recognition of His Title — The Question of the Succes- 
sion — Matrimonial Ventures of Louis Napoleon — 
Eugenie de Montijo — The Imperial Marriage — The 
Bonapartes Return — Splendor of the Court — Char- 
acter of Napoleon — The Napoleonic Ideas — Political 
Institutions of the Empire — The Emperor's Policy ... 146 

CHAPTER ELEVEN 

1854-1855 

THE CRIMEAN WAR 

Prosperity of the Empire — Obligations of a Warlike Heri- 
tage — The Famous Speech at Bordeaux — Causes of 
the Russian War — The Sick Man of Europe — The 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Holy Places — Russia Invades the Danubean Princi- 
palities — The Anglo-French Alliance — First Year of 
the War — Battles in the Crimea — Siege and Fall of 
Sebastopol — Treaty of Paris — Results of the War 
— Visit to England — Birth of the Prince Imperial — 
Royal Visitors to Paris — The Exhibition of 1855 — 
Visit of Queen Victoria 158 

CHAPTER TWELVE 

1859 

ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

Count Cavour — Piedmont in the Crimean War — The 
Congress of Paris — The Comtesse de Castiglione — 
The Orsini Conspiracy — The Pact of Plombieres — 
The Austrian Ultimatum — The Campaign in Lom- 
bardy — Victories of Magenta and Solferino — The 
Peace of Villafranca — Explanation of Napoleon's 
Action — Resignation of Cavour — Savoy and Nice 
Annexed to France 175 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

1860 

FRANCE AND ITALY 

New Year's Day at Rome — Resignation of Walewski — • 
The Speech from the Throne — Monsieur Thouvenel 

— The Italian Question — Nice and Savoy — The 
Great Powers — Treaty of Turin — Napoleon and 
Pius Ninth — General Lamoriciere — The Pontifical 
Army — Journey of the French Sovereigns — 
The Piedmontese Invasion — Castelfidardo and 
Ancona — Kingdom of Naples — Diplomatic Protests 

— The Interview of Warsaw — Victor Emmanuel at 
Naples — End of the Year i860 189 

Cxi] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

1855-1867 

GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

PAGE 
Two Great Military Reviews — Death of the Grand 
Duchess Stephanie — The Baden Interview — The 
Visit to Corsica — The Reconstruction of Paris — 
Home Life in the Tuileries — The Exhibition of 1867 . . 206 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

1860-1870 

HOME AFFAIRS 

Effect of the Italian War — Damage to the Emperor's 
Prestige — The English Treaty of Commerce — Op- 
position of the Protectionists — Religious Agitation 

— Foundation of the Liberal Empire — Change in the 
French Navigation Laws — Further Concessions to 
the Liberals — Growing Strength of the Opposition — 
Death of Morny — Rise of the Third Party — ^Waver- 
ing Policy of the Emperor — Final Adoption of the 
Liberal Plan — The Ollivier Ministry — The Nation 
Approves the Liberal Reforms — Satisfaction of the 
Emperor 222 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN 

1860-1866 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

The Syrian Massacres — Napoleon's Letter to Palmerston 

— Limited Results of the Expedition — The Chinese 
War — The French and English Forces — Battle of 
Palikao — Destruction of the Summer Palace — Treaty 
of Pekin — The Mexican War — Ulterior Plans of 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 
Napoleon — The Mexican Empire — Maximilian and 
Carlotta — Withdrawal of the French Army — Execu- 
tion of Maximilian — Blow to Napoleon's Prestige — 
Plans for German Unity — Rise of Bismarck — The 
Schleswig-Holstein Question — The Biarritz Confer- 
ence — The Italian Alliance — The Seven Weeks* 
War — Victory of Sadowa — North German Confeder- 
ation 234 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

1860-1870 

DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

Incapacity of the Government in External Affairs — The 
Peace of Villafranca — The Mexican War — The Rise 
of Prussia — Alienation of the Church of Rome — 
Meddling of the Empress — The Affair of Schleswig- 
Holstein — The Seven Weeks' War — Army Reorgani- 
zation — Napoleon's Lassitude — His Poor Health — 
Reasons for the Constitutional Changes — The Popular 
Approval — Negative Votes of the Army — The Ho- 
henzoUern Candidature — The Famous Ems Dispatch 
— Bismarck's Duplicity — France Declares War 250 



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

1870 

THE GERMAN WAR 

Effect of the Ems Dispatch — Declaration of War — En- 
thusiasm of the Parisians — Isolation of France — Dis- 
organization of the Army — Perfect Preparation of 
Prussia — Advance of the Three German Armies — 
MacMahon Defeated at Worth — Despair of the 
Emperor — Bazaine in Command — Attempt to 
C xiii 3 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Retreat on Verdun Checked at Borny — Night Visit 
to Napoleon — The Emperor Goes to Gravelotte — 
Final Interview with Bazaine — Battles of Vionville 
and Gravelotte — Siege of Metz Begun — Napoleon 
at Chalons — A Council of War — Veto of the Em- 
press — MacMahon Decides to March on Metz — 
Further Indecision — The March Resumed — Posi- 
tion of the Germans — They Follow the French 
Army — Further Defeats of the French — Retreat 
to Sedan — The French Position — MacMahon 
Wounded — Wimpffen in Command — Misery of the 
Emperor — Desperate Position of the Army — The 
White Flag Hoisted — Napoleon's Letter — 27a 

CHAPTER NINETEEN 

1871-1873 

LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

The Surrender at Sedan — The Emperor's Last Meeting 
with Bismarck — His Interviev/ with King William — 
Prisoner in Germany — The Chateau of Wilhelmshohe 
— Visit of the Empress — End of the War — Final 
Exile in England — Life at Camden Place — Fail- 
ing Health of the Emperor — Operation of the Sec- 
ond January — Death on the Ninth — Funeral at 
Chislehurst 287 

CHAPTER TWENTY 

1856-1879 

THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

His First Public Appearance — The Baptism of Fire — His 
Wanderings During the War — Chislehurst and Wool- 
wich — Service in South Africa — Killed by the Zulus 
Cxiv] 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

— Prince Victor Head of the Family — His Marriage 
with Clementine — Birth of Louis Napoleon — The 
American Bonapartes — The Empress at Farnborough 
Hill — Her Visits to Paris and Cap Martin — Her 
Death — The Fate of the Tuileries 298 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 
1808-1873 
CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

His Mission — His Heredity — His Youth and Education 

— His Mother's Influence — His Personal Attraction 

— His Excellence in Sports — His Powers as a Linguist 

— His Efforts to Improve France — His Personality 

— His Entourage — His Dignity — His Affability — 
His Tenacity — His Lack of Decision — His Love of 
Startling Effects — His Impassibility — His Personal 
Appearance — His Place in History 3 13 

THE BONAPARTES 

GENEALOGICAL TABLE 327 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 328 

CHRONOLOGY 332 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 334 

INDEX • • 337 



Cxv] 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Napoleon the Third Frontispiece y 

Napoleon 20^ 

Josephine 24*^ 

Louis, King of Holland 3^*^ 

Queen Hortense 48 

Le Chateau of Ham 96^ 

President Louis Napoleon 112^ 

Napoleon the Third 128*^ 

Eugenie I44^ 

La Princesse Mathilde 160*'^ 

La Comtesse de Castiglione , 176 

Le Comte Walewski 192 

Le Due de Morny 208^ 

The Tuileries 288^^ 

Le Prince Imperial 304*^ 



Cxvii] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 
THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 
THE ROMANCE OF AN EMPEROR 

CHAPTER ONE 

1804-1808 

THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

Louis Bonaparte — Hortense de Beauharnais — The Empress 
Josephine — Marriage of Louis and Hortense — Birth of 
Napoleon Charles — The Problem of Succession — Birth of 
Napoleon Louis — The King and Queen of Holland — 
Death of Napoleon Charles — The Baths of Cauterets — 
The Verhuell Calumny 

IN all history there are few personaHties more in- 
teresting than that of Napoleon the Third. The 
story of his life reads Hke a romance. His adven- 
tures unroll before the eyes with all the attraction of 
a moving picture, with all the enthralling Interest of 
a melodrama. The student of his career finds It diffi- 
cult to avoid the Impression that he Is In the presence 
of a hero of fiction or of the drama, beside whom all 
other characters of romance seem Insignificant. 

At the time of his birth, his father Louis Bonaparte 
was King of Holland. His mother was the fascinating 
Hortense, daughter of the Empress Josephine by her 
first marriage with the VIcomte de Beauharnais, who 
was guillotined during the French Revolution. He was 
therefore at the same time the nephew and the grand- 
son by marriage of the Great Emperor. 

Louis Bonaparte was the favorite brother of Na- 
poleon, who carefully supervised his education and 
treated him almost like an adopted son. In 1795 he 

Z32 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

procured for him admission to the mihtary school at 
Chalons. At that time he wrote of him as follows: 

"Je suis tres content de Louis, il repond a mes es- 
perances et a I'attente que j'avais congue de lui; c'est 
un bon sujet; mais aussi c*est de ma fa^on: chaleur, 
esprit, sante, talent, commerce exact, bonte, il reunit 
tout." 

In this letter we find a tenderness, almost a paternal 
blindness, which one would hardly look for in Na- 
poleon. 

During the first Italian campaign Louis acted as 
aide de camp of Napoleon. He was his messmate, his 
private secretary, his man of confidence. During this 
period he gave proofs of a strong constitution, was 
always gay, and showed himself to be an amiable 
companion and a bon vivant. Later he had an attack 
of rheumatic gout which in a short time seemed to 
change both his physical temperament and his moral 
character. For the rest of his life he was sickly, mo- 
rose, melancholic, constantly occupied with his health, 
and persuaded that he was doomed. 

At the time no one suspected this transformation 
in his character. Napoleon least of all. 

After the return from Egypt, where Louis again 
acted as aide de camp of his brother, this young man, 
without merit, without experience, without military 
taste, without glorious achievement, was rapidly ad- 
vanced by Napoleon to the grade of general of brig- 
ade. After this appointment in January 1800, when 
he was only twenty-two years of age, Louis resided 
at Paris, where he occupied himself with nearly every- 
thing except his military duties. 

1:43 



THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

After Marengo, the First Consul began seriously to 
consider the question of his heir. It was then that 
Josephine conceived the idea of a marriage between 
her daughter Hortense and Louis. 

At that time Hortense was only seventeen years of 
age, or five years younger than her future husband. 
She was not at all pretty, but was singularly attrac- 
tive from the beauty of her form and the grace of her 
movements. Except for her blond hair she would have 
been considered rather plain. Her nose was large and 
her mouth homely, with bad teeth even in her youth. 
Her eyes, of a blue violet color, at times gave an ex- 
pression of exquisite tenderness and vivacity to her 
face. The tout ensemble was one which attracted and 
fascinated everybody. She had been educated at the 
famous school of Madame Campan and possessed 
all the accomplishments of a young lady of good 
family. She danced well, she embroidered, she sang, 
she played the harp and the piano, she excelled in all 
the little tasks of the salon, she was quite literary in 
her tastes. In character she was sweet, loving, viva- 
cious, and very amiable if not crossed, when she be- 
came very obstinate. She was a fine horsewoman, 
and took a prominent part in the sports and pastimes 
of the chateau life. Her finest trait was her Hfe-long 
adoration of her mother. 

Josephine, it must be confessed, was little worthy 
of the love which both her children always gave her. 
In spite of her many amiable qualities she was sel- 
fishness personified and never really loved anybody 
but herself. She was fond of her position as the wife of 
the head of the State, and the many worldly advan- 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

tages which this brought her, but she never really 
loved Napoleon the man, and never showed much 
affection for her children. She was one of those rare 
characters who seem to possess the natural gift of 
attracting others without themselves giving anything 
in return. Her memory has been crowned with a 
halo which it little deserved. 

All the memoirs of her time are in accord in attrib- 
uting to Josephine great affability and social tact. 
All are equally unanimous in saying she had very lit- 
tle intellect. The depths of her selfishness were con- 
cealed by an appearance of affability and tenderness. 
As a woman she had no instruction, no belief, no rule 
of morality, but she possessed in the highest degree 
the gift of social tact, of savoir faire, of always saying 
and doing the right thing at the right time, of win- 
ning all hearts. Intelligent or not, she was successful 
for fourteen years in keeping the love of a husband 
six years her junior against all the attacks and all the 
conspiracies of the whole Bonaparte family. Hortense, 
with much more Intelligence, possessed all the attrac- 
tive qualities of her mother, with few, if any, of her 
faults. Josephine, in considering the different partis 
who presented them^selves for Hortense, never re- 
garded them from the point of view of the happiness 
of her daughter but only from that of her own per- 
sonal Interest. 

Finally matters were brought to a head by the at- 
tempt on the life of the First Consul the night of 
24 December 1800, when he was on his way to the 
opera. His life was spared almost by a miracle, and 
Josephine and Hortense, who followed in another 

1:6: 



THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

carriage, owed their safety to a short delay in starting 
occasioned by an accident of toilette. Every one was 
impressed as never before with the necessity for the 
safety of the State of having an heir for Napoleon. 
Josephine was now firmly resolved upon the marriage 
between her daughter and Louis, but it was nearly a 
year before she succeeded in carrying out her plans. 

In September 1801 Louis came to Malmaison to 
make a visit to his brother and sister-in-law and it 
was the evening of a ball there that after a decisive 
interview with Hortense the marriage was finally ar- 
ranged. According to Masson, who is the latest and 
best authority on the subject of "Napoleon et sa 
Famille," there was little if any foundation for the 
re-iterated affirmations of Louis in later years that the 
marriage was forced upon him. Three months 
elapsed between the ball at Malmaison and the cere- 
mony. During this period Louis showed himself very 
much in love, while Hortense, if not very enthusiastic, 
was at least resigned to her lot. The 3 January, 1802, 
the marriage contract was signed in the presence of 
nearly the entire Bonaparte family, and the following 
day the civil marriage itself took place, followed the 
same evening by a religious ceremxOny, at the Bona- 
parte hotel in the Rue de la Victoire. 

This function terminated. General Murat ap- 
proached the cardinal-legate, Caprara, and said 
that his marriage with Caroline Bonaparte had only 
been a civil ceremony, and requested him to unite 
them by the rites of the Church. Caprara immedi- 
ately performed the ceremony, with the same witnesses 
who had attested the marriage of Hortense and Louis. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Thus was realized the ardent wish of Josephine, 
who now felt that her position was not only assured 
for the present, but was certain to be stronger in the 
future. Her only daughter was the wife of the favorite 
brother of Napoleon, and the only one whom he was 
likely to accept as his heir. 

Louis was married only a few days, and hardly 
settled in the little hotel loaned them by Napoleon in 
the Rue de la Victoire, before trouble began between 
the young couple. The cause of the quarrel was over 
Josephine, whom Louis both disliked and distrusted, 
and whom he wished so far as possible to keep sepa- 
rated from her daughter. He soon left his young 
wife, and except for a short appearance in April was 
absent all summer. Abandoned by her husband the 
second month of her marriage, Hortense passed most 
of her time with Napoleon and Josephine either at 
the Tuileries or at Malmaison where she spent the 
summer and fall. During the three weeks that her 
mother went to Plombieres to take the waters, Hor- 
tense did the honors of the Chateau. The prolonged 
absence of her husband after so short a period of 
marriage and the intimacy into which she was neces- 
sarily thrown with her young stepfather, who was 
only fourteen years older than herself, soon gave oc- 
casion for scandal. The hatred of Josephine by Napo- 
leon's brothers, and the jealousy of his sisters towards 
Hortense, served to fan the flame. When these reports 
reached the ears of Napoleon, he thought it better 
for Hortense not to continue to live at the Tuileries, 
and as the little hotel which he had loaned them in 
Rue de la Victoire was too small, the last of July 1802 

C83 



THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

he bought for about 180,000 francs, in the name of 
Louis and Hortense, and presented to them, a little 
palace at number 16 in the same street. Here on 
10 October 1802 was born a son who was called 
Napoleon Charles. Louis, in response to a formal 
order from his brother, had returned to Paris just in 
time to be present on the interesting occasion. 

Napoleon Charles was the first male child born 
in the Bonaparte family in Napoleon's generation. 
Joseph had only one daughter; Lucien, two. In a way, 
the feeling of Napoleon towards him was that of a 
grandfather. He was the child of Louis, who was 
almost like a son to him, and of Hortense, who was 
his daughter by marriage, and by adoption in his 
heart. The months before his birth Hortense had 
passed with Napoleon and Josephine during the ab- 
sence of her husband. The child strongly resembled 
his uncle in the shape of his head and the form of his 
features, but was blond like his mother. 

The scandal-mongers, of whom the latest and 
meanest and most mendacious of all was the so-called 
"Baron d'Ambes," who claimed to be the "life-long 
and intimate friend of Napoleon the Third," have 
endeavored to establish the fact that King Louis was 
not the father of any of his reputed children ! Ambes, 
in his "Intimate Memoirs," of which an English 
translation was published here in 1912, writes, "Napo- 
leon, too, insisted on the marriage, and so peremp- 
torily, he must have had a pressing motive. We can 
guess what it was ! . . . The case was urgent — these 
four words sufficiently reveal the predicament." 

Now for the facts in the case, which Monsieur 

1:9:] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

"d'Ambes" carefully ignores. In the first place, the 
marriage did not take place until over three months 
after it was first arranged, as we have already seen. 
So much for the urgency! In the second place, the 
First Consul left Paris for Lyon the night of the eighth 
of January, only four days after the marriage, and did 
not return until the first of February. During these 
four days Hortense was with her husband in their 
Paris house and did not once visit Saint-Cloud. 
Napoleon Charles was born the tenth of October. 
The reader can make his own calculations and deduc- 
tions. To be sure, the eldest son of Hortense strangely 
resembled Napoleon. But the striking family resem- 
blance of the Bonapartes has often been remarked. 
Jerome Bonaparte of Baltimore, the son of Napoleon's 
youngest brother Jerome by his first marriage with 
Elizabeth Patterson, and Prince Napoleon, his son 
by his second wife the Princess Catherine of Wiirtem- 
berg, in personal appearance both bore an extraor- 
dinary resemblance to the First Napoleon. On the 
other hand. Prince Victor, the elder son of Prince 
Napoleon, and the present head of the Bonaparte 
family, strongly resembles his Italian mother, the 
Princess Clotilde, daughter of King Victor Emmanuel, 
as Napoleon the Third strongly resembled his mother 
Queen Hortense. 

Returning to Paris just in time for the birth of his 
son, Louis decided to live for the present in his new 
mansion, and a kind of reconciliation, to be only too 
brief, was arranged between the young couple. Before 
many months had passed, Louis again left Paris, 
where Hortense remained with her child, and did not 

nio3 



THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

return until the month of September 1803. Then for 
a short time he and his wife were again united, at 
Compiegne, where his brigade was stationed. 

In the spring of 1804, the question of the succession 
again came up, and was discussed in many family- 
councils, and with the chief dignitaries of the State. 
Napoleon had decided to assume the title of Emperor 
of the French, and it was necessary to arrange the 
matter of the heredity of the Imperial crown. After 
eight years of marriage, Napoleon had given up all 
hope of a direct heir. His eldest brother, Joseph, had 
no sons. Both Lucien and Jerome had married con- 
trary to his wishes, and could not be considered. 
Louis was thought to be unfitted mentally and 
physically for the honor. The law, as finally adopted 
in May 1804, gave Napoleon the power to adopt any 
child or grandchild of his brothers who had reached 
the age of eighteen years, provided at the time of such 
adoption he himself had no male child. His brothers 
Joseph and Louis, and their male descendants, were 
placed next in order of succession. This law of adop- 
tion was expressly restricted to Napoleon himself 
and did not extend to his successors. So at last the 
great question of heredity was settled — to the 
satisfaction of nobody. Of the four brothers, two, 
Lucien and Jerome, were excluded from the line of 
succession because of their marriages, and two, 
Joseph and Louis, were wounded to the quick by the 
law of adoption. 

About this time, Louis, who had always detested 
the mansion in the Rue de la Victoire, which his wife 
had selected during his absence, proceeded without 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

consulting Hortense to exchange it for a large hotel in 
the Rue Cerutti, now Rue Laffitte, for which he paid 
an additional sum of 300,000 francs. This mansion 
had previously been the residence of four different 
men of finance, and later was to pass from Hor- 
tense to still another, a member of the Rothschild 
family. It was a most pretentious, but very gloomy 
house, without a ray of sunlight. At the same time, 
Louis purchased at Saint-Leu, about twelve miles 
from Paris, for the sum of 464,000 francs, two beau- 
tiful adjoining properties for a country residence. 
Here Hortense passed the summer, Louis being ab- 
sent as usual. The 10 October 1804 she returned to 
her Paris residence, where on the following day was 
born her second son Napoleon Louis. The 24 March 
following, in the presence of the whole Imperial 
family, he was baptized at the palace of Saint-Cloud 
by the Pope himself, who had not yet left Paris after 
the coronation of the Emperor in December. Such 
exceptional honors had never been accorded before 
even to a dauphin of France. But it was not without 
a definite political end in view, that the Emperor had 
acted on this occasion. He had thus affirmed before 
his family and his Court the intention of adoption 
which he later expected to carry out. 

The 2 August 1805 Louis was appointed Governor 
of Paris. During the campaign of Austerlitz, in the 
absence of the Emperor, Louis showed such zeal and 
activity in his new post as to win the enthusiastic 
approval of his brother. 

After the great victory of Austerlitz, 2 December 
1805, Napoleon began to carry out his plan of form- 



THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

ing a ring of states surrounding and in close alliance 
with the French Empire, and the 5 June 1806 he pro- 
claimed Louis King of Holland. Almost from the start, 
Louis was in trouble with his brother because he 
wished to govern his Kingdom in the interests of 
Holland rather than of the French Empire, entirely- 
ignoring the fact that he was neither the hereditary 
sovereign of the country, nor the elective choice of 
its people, but only the representative on the throne 
of his brother the Emperor of the French. 

Hortense accompanied Louis to The Hague, when 
he went there to take up the reins of his new govern- 
ment. For a short period, peace reigned once more 
in the family. Then the quarrels began again. In July 
1806 Hortense went with her husband to Aix-la- 
Chapelle, but did not go back to The Hague with 
him on his return the last of September. The cam- 
paign of Jena was just commencing and the Emperor 
directed Hortense to join her mother at Mayence, 
where the Empress was to be with her court. She did 
not return to her capital until seven months later at 
the end of January 1807, and then only upon the 
express order of the Emperor. She was no sooner back 
than a new quarrel began. This time it was Hortense 
who took it into her head to be jealous and caused 
the dismissal of a lady of the court. 

The 13 December 1806 there was born at Paris a 
child to whom was given the name of Leon. He was 
the fruit of a short liaison between the Emperor 
and a reader of his sister Caroline, named Eleonore 
Denuelle, aged twenty years. 

c 13 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The 5 May 1807, at the royal palace of The Hague, 
Napoleon Charles, the elder son of Louis and Hor- 
tense, died of the croup, at the age of four years and 
seven months. 

These two events, seemingly of no great importance 
at the time, changed the destiny of the Empire and 
of the Emperor. 

The heir-presumptive to the throne was dead, and 
Napoleon for the first time was satisfied that it was 
possible for him to have a direct heir of his own blood. 
From that moment the fate of Josephine was de- 
cided. The divorce was only a question of time. 

The grief of Hortense over the death of her boy 
was so great that it was feared that she might lose 
her reason. She was finally persuaded to take her 
other child and go to join her mother, who came part 
way to meet her. After a brief visit at Malmaison, 
Hortense went to Cauterets in the Pyrenees, where 
she was joined later by Louis, who had obtained per- 
mission from the Emperor to absent himself from his 
Kingdom. At this little watering-place, Louis and 
Hortense once more resumed their life in common. 
The 6 July, Louis left for Toulouse, where the Queen 
rejoined him the 12 August, and travelled with him 
to Saint-Cloud, where they arrived the last of the 
month. At that time there seemed to be a good 
understanding between them. 

During the five weeks that Hortense remained at 
Cauterets after the departure of Louis, she only once 
saw Monsieur Verhuell, who was at Bareges and came 
to pay his respects to his sovereign. Upon so slight 
a foundation was built the calumny which attributed 



THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOLLAND 

to his fascinating brother, who was never there at 
all, the parentage of Louis Napoleon, born at Paris 
nine months later. According to Masson, the Verhuell 
who called on the Queen was not the Admiral Carel- 
Hendrik, who was then at his post of Minister of 
Marine at The Hague, but his brother C. A. Verhuell, 
whom Louis had just appointed as Minister to Spain, 
a large, fat, stupid individual, who was generally 
disliked. 



Cis: 



CHAPTER TWO 

1808-1815 

CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

Birth of Louis Napoleon — Holland Annexed to the Empire — 
Separation of Louis and Hortense — Flahaut and Momy — 
The Hundred Days — Departure of Napoleon — Jose- 
phine's Estate — Malmaison and Saint-Leu — Hortense 
in Exile 

LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, after- 
wards Napoleon the Third, Emperor of the 
French, was born at Paris on Wednesday, 20 
April, 1808. The place of his birth was not the Tuile- 
ries, as the official historians state, but the new town 
house of his mother. Queen Hortense, at 8 Rue 
Cerutti, now the Rue Laffitte. 

According to the testimony of the doctors in at- 
tendance on Hortense, one of whom was Corvisart, 
the Emperor's personal physician, the child came into 
the world nearly a month too soon, as was shown by 
his great weakness at the time of his birth. To revive 
him, it was necessary to employ wine baths and to 
wrap him in cotton. 

At a later date, Louis, who was ill, restless and 
suspicious, on several occasions expressed doubts 
as to the legitimacy of his youngest son, saying that 
"not a drop of the blood of the Bonapartes flowed in 
his veins.'* It must be admitted that Hortense, who 
was young, attractive and capricious, and who with 
good reason detested her husband, from whom she 



CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

was separated most of the time, often acted in a 
manner to lay herself open to suspicion. But there 
is conclusive evidence, in the form of letters and 
memoirs, besides the facts above stated, which defi- 
nitely disposes of the calumny, that Louis Napoleon 
was the offspring of the attractive Dutch Admiral. 
Furthermore, there is no question of the strong re- 
semblance in disposition between King Louis and 
his youngest son, who early gave signs of the grave 
and dreamy character of his father. Another ground 
of suspicion was found in the undeniable fact that 
Louis, who greatly resembled his mother, was en- 
tirely lacking in those physical traits which so 
strongly marked nearly all the members of the Bona- 
parte family, but this is very far from being any proof 
of illegitimacy. 

The mendacious "Ambes" also tries to establish 
the fact that Napoleon was the father of Louis Napo- 
leon. He begins by saying that the 7 July 1807 Napo- 
leon had signed the famous Treaty of Tilsit, and then 
continues: "He was back at Saint-Cloud before the 
end of the month. . . . Here is something then to go 
upon. Napoleon was in France at the end of July," 
and so on. He absolutely ignores the well-established 
facts that while Napoleon was at Saint-Cloud, In the 
suburbs of Paris, Hortense during the months of 
July and August was hundreds of miles away, at the 
baths of Cauterets In the Pyrenees, and that she did 
not reach Saint-Cloud until the very end of August, 
when she was enceinte. This is only mentioned to 
show to what ridiculous extents the calumniators 
can go in trying to make out their case. 

1:173 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

At the time of the birth of Louis Napoleon, the 
Emperor was at Bayonne in southern France, direct- 
ing the movements of his armies in Spain, and trying 
to straighten out the tangle of affairs in the Penin- 
sula, but he was not too busy to send a letter of con- 
gratulations to Hortense, in which he directed that 
the boy should be named Charles Napoleon. Two 
years and a half were to elapse, however, before the 
christening, which was celebrated very brilliantly in 
the chapel of the palace of Fontainebleau, 4 Novem- 
ber 1910, his sponsors being the Emperor and the new 
Empress Marie-Louise. Several years before, a family 
register had been prepared by order of Napoleon, in 
which to record the births of the children of the Im- 
perial family, and by a chance which strikes the 
imagination, the name of Louis Napoleon was the 
first to be inscribed In the book. He was christened 
Charles Louis Napoleon, Charles in honor of his 
grandfather, Louis for his father, and Napoleon for 
the Emperor. He never used the name of Charles, 
however, and always signed himself Louis Napoleon 
until he became Emperor, when he dropped the 
name of Louis by which he had always been known In 
his family. 

In March 1808 the Emperor offered to Louis the 
throne of Spain, which had been declared vacant. 
On his refusal to accept it, the doubtful honor went 
to his eldest brother Joseph. 

Meanwhile the disagreement between Napoleon 
and Louis over the policy of Holland continued, and 
the Increasing stringency of the continental blockade 
against English goods finally brought the two brothers 

ni83 



CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

to the breaking point. In tlie latter part of 1809, the 
Emperor decided to annex Holland to the French 
Empire in order to put a stop to the trade which the 
Dutch secretly carried on with England, and early 
in the following year French troops began to occupy 
various parts of Holland, and finally moved on the 
capital. Thereupon Louis fled from his Kingdom, and 
after some wanderings took up his residence in Bo- 
hemia. The rest of his life he spent entirely separated 
from his wife. In July 18 10 the Low Countries were 
formally annexed to the French Empire. 

After the exile of Louis, Hortense continued to live 
in Paris in close relation with the Imperial court. Her 
conduct was far from irreproachable, and in October, 
181 1, she gave birth to a son who afterwards became 
the celebrated statesman of the Second Empire, the 
Due de Morny. His father was Comte de Flahaut, 
a well-known French general and statesman, who is 
perhaps better remembered for his exploits in 
gallantry, and the elegant manners in which he 
had been carefully trained by his mother, than for 
his public services, which however were not incon- 
siderable. 

It was generally believed at Paris that Flahaut was 
the fruit of his mother's liaison with Talleyrand, who 
certainly took a fatherly interest In his career. Fla- 
haut served with distinction during several cam- 
paigns of the Empire and finally became general of 
division and aide de camp to the Emperor. After the 
abdication of Napoleon In 18 14 he submitted to the 
new Government, and continued to reside at Paris, 
where he was devoted in his attentions to Hortense. 

1191 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

He rejoined the army during the Hundred Days and 
fought at Waterloo. After the return of the Bourbons, 
he probably would have been shot, like Marshal Ney, 
except for the powerful influence of Talleyrand. He 
retired to England, where he married the daughter 
of Admiral Lord Keith. His eldest daughter, Emily, 
married the Marquess of Landsdowne, and was the 
mother of the present Lord Landsdowne. He returned 
to France in 1827, and in 1830 was made a peer of 
France by Louis Philippe. In 1841 he was ambassador 
to Vienna, where he remained until the Revolution of 
1848. Under the Second Empire he was ambassador 
at the court of St. James's from i860 to 1862. He 
died I September 1870, the eve of the surrender at 
Sedan. His life of eighty-five years therefore covered 
the entire period of time from the French Revolu- 
tion to the Third Republic, which was proclaimed 
three days after his death. He survived his celebrated 
son, Morny, by five years. 

After the first abdication of Napoleon and his de- 
parture for the island of Elba, Hortense lived at 
Malmaison with her two children, under the protec- 
tion of the Czar Alexander. She had received permis- 
sion to remain at Paris on condition that she should 
be calm and prudent. At the request of Alexander, the 
King conferred upon her the title of Duchesse de 
Saint-Leu, and also continued the handsome allow- 
ance from the State of 400,000 francs which she had 
received under the Empire. 

Then came the sudden return of the Emperor from 
Elba, the flight of the Bourbons, and the eventful 
Hundred Days. 

1:203 




NAPOLEON 



CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

On his arrival in Paris the night of Monday 20 
March 1815, Napoleon went directly to the Tuileries, 
where he was received by Hortense and the greater 
part of the grand dignitaries of the Empire. At two 
o'clock that afternoon the white flag of the Bourbons 
had been pulled down and the tricolor raised on the 
Pavilion de THorloge at the centre of the Chateau. 

The Emperor's greeting to Hortense at first was 
rather cold, because of the reports which had reached 
him of her friendship with the Czar and her ac- 
ceptance of a title from the King. But almost im- 
mediately the memory of Josephine disarmed his 
resentment towards her daughter, and opening his 
arms he tenderly embraced Hortense, saying: 

" Vous avez done vu mourir cette pauvre Josephine .? 
Au milieu de nos desastres, sa mort m'a navre le 
coeur." 

He also spoke of his little son the King of Rome, 
four years old that very day, whom he was never to 
see again. 

After remaining at the Tuileries for four weeks, on 
the 17 April he moved to the Elysee for the sake of 
greater tranquillity and less interruption to his tre- 
mendous labors. Here he dined alone every evening 
with Hortense. With her two sons she took part in 
the ceremony of the Champ-de-Mai, when the eagles 
were presented to the army before its departure for 
Belgium. 

Before leaving Paris for the front. Napoleon wished 
to go to Malmaison, and asked Hortense to accom- 
pany him. After visiting the Chateau and the death- 
chamber of Josephine, where he displayed the most 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

profound emotion, he walked for an hour with Hor- 
tense in the gardens, talking of Josephine. 

The evening of the ii June, Hortense, at the re- 
quest of the Emperor, took her two sons to his cabinet 
to bid farewell to their uncle who was to leave Paris 
at an early hour the next morning. Napoleon was 
more affectionate than usual in his caresses of the 
young Louis, who burst into tears and begged the 
Emperor not to leave for the war. After Hortense 
had taken him away. Napoleon turned to Marshal 
Soult, who was present, and made the prophetic re- 
mark: 

"II sera un bon coeur et une belle ame; c'est peut- 
etre Tespoir de ma race." 

Only ten days later, overcome with fatigue and 
grief, abandoned by fortune, this time forever, the 
Emperor returned to the Elysee from the fatal field 
of Waterloo. On Sunday 25 June he left Paris for the 
last time, and went to Malmaison, where he found 
Hortense and a few faithful friends awaiting him. 
Here he remained for several days in a state of doubt 
and hesitation very foreign to his usual character. In 
the meantime the Allies were fast drawing nearer to 
Paris, and it was necessary to reach a decision. Thurs- 
day afternoon at five o'clock, dressed in civilian cos- 
tume for the first time in many years, after bidding 
a last adieu to his mother and Hortense, he entered 
his carriage and started for Rochefort. It was the 
first stage of the journey to Saint Helena! 

Then, only a few days later, when the victorious 
Allies once more entered Paris, Hortense was forced 
to receive at her Chateau of Saint-Leu King Frede- 

C223 



CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

rick William of Prussia and his two sons, the younger 
of whom, then a boy of eighteen, was afterwards the 
first German Emperor. So the two Emperors, William 
and Napoleon, who fifty-five years later were to meet 
for the last time on the tragic field of Sedan, here 
met for the first time as boys. 

The Bourbons are once more seated on the throne 
of France. Napoleon is on his way to Saint Helena. 
Josephine has been dead a year. For the moment, the 
Bonaparte family is scattered far and wide. The Em- 
peror's mother, Madame Mere, is living at Rome. 
Jerome and his wife have been banished to Trieste, 
where are also Caroline, the widow of Murat, and her 
sister Elise. Joseph has found a refuge in the United 
States, and is widely separated from his wife and 
daughters who are in Brussels. 
- Hortense has lost forever her title of queen and her 
allowance from the State. For the rest of her life she 
is to be known as the Duchesse de Saint-Leu. Already, 
during the first Restoration, the calm and uneventful 
life which Hortense led with her two children at 
Saint-Leu and Malmalson had excited the suspicions 
of the royal spies. She was accused of plotting for the 
return of the Emperor, which was very far from being 
true. It was represented to the fat old Bourbon King 
that it was very dangerous for him to allow the fas- 
cinating Hortense to live only a few leagues from his 
capital, and to visit Paris as often as she wished, and 
above all to permit the two young Napoleons to grow 
up so near his throne. These apprehensions at the 
moment seemed ridiculous, but time was to show that 
they were not so unreasonable. 

1:233 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

After the Hundred Days, the attacks on Hortense 
redoubled in violence, and she finally decided to go 
and take up her abode in Josephine's chateau at 
Pregny near Geneva. 

Aside from her two chateaux of Malmaison and 
Pregny, and her fine collection of jewels, Josephine, 
who was one of the most extravagant of women, left 
little of value at the time of her death. During the 
period of less than ten years from her coronation 2 
December 1804 to her death 29 May 18 14, she spent 
the enormous sum of thirty million francs — all for 
her pleasure, her amusement, and the embellishment 
of her body. No less than seven times in these ten 
years Napoleon was called on to pay her debts, which 
again at the time of her death amounted to three 
millions more. In the settlement of her estate, Eu- 
gene took Malmaison and assumed the payment of 
her debts, while Hortense received Pregny and her 
jewels. When the succession was finally liquidated 
the share of each of her children amounted to about 
two million francs. 

In June 1829, five years after the death of Prince 
Eugene, it was found necessary, in the final settlement 
of his estate, to dispose of Malmaison. At that time 
the chateau was purchased by a Swedish banker, 
and at his death in 1842 was resold to Queen Marie 
Christine of Spain. In 1861 it was bought by Napoleon 
the Third and made a museum for objects formerly 
belonging to Napoleon and Josephine. During the 
Franco-Prussian war it was pillaged by the Germans, 
and set on fire by the shells from the Paris forts dur- 
ing the last sortie from the city. In 1877 it was sold 




JOSEPHINE 



CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

by the Empress Eugenie, and after passing through 
several hands was finally bought by a Jewish million- 
aire, named Osiris, who had the generous thought of 
restoring it as nearly as possible to its former state 
and presenting it to the government as a museum of 
Napoleonic relics. 

In the crypt of the handsome church built by 
Napoleon the Third, in the village of Saint-Leu, is 
the burial-place of many members of the Bonaparte 
family. In the vault there lie Charles Bonaparte of 
Corsica, the father of the race, his son King Louis, 
and his sons Napoleon Charles and Napoleon Louis. 
Josephine and Hortense are buried in the beautiful 
church, rebuilt during the Second Empire, at Rueil, 
near Malmaison. 

It was hard for Hortense to make up her mind to 
bid adieu forever to Saint-Leu and to the woods and 
gardens of Malmaison where so many happy days 
had been passed. While she was still hesitating over 
the date of her departure, the 19 July 18 15 she re- 
ceived a peremptory order to leave Paris within 
twenty-four hours. The following day Hortense left 
Paris for her long exile in Switzerland. The provinces 
were in a state of great disorder, and she owed her 
safety during the Journey to the Austrian Prince 
Schwarzenberg, who appointed his own adjutant, 
Comte de Woyna, to escort the exiles to the 
frontier, a mission which he fulfilled with courage 
and delicacy. The journey to the frontier was full of 
perils, but after experiencing many anxieties and 
dangers, the fugitives finally reached Geneva in 

[25 3 



NAPOLEON THE THiRD 

safety, and went to the Hotel de Secheron, where they 
hoped to find a httle rest and peace. But Hortense 
was not yet at the end of her troubles, for she was at 
once ordered to leave the city. For the moment she 
retired to Aix in Savoie, where she hoped to be al- 
lowed to remain. To add to her distress of mind, while 
at Aix she was forced to part with the elder of her two 
remaining children. Some months before. King Louis, 
who was living in retirement at Rome, had begun an 
action in the French courts to recover possession of 
his two sons, claiming that he wished to supervise 
their education. Hortense defended the action, but 
in March 1815 the case was decided against her so far 
as the elder of the two boys was concerned, and by 
decree of the court she was ordered to send Napoleon 
Louis to his father. The return of Napoleon from Elba 
and the Hundred Days made it possible for her to 
put off the date of parting with her son, but she was 
finally forced to yield. 

Hortense at last on the 21 October received the 
decision of the Swiss Government granting her per- 
mission to make her home upon the banks of Lake 
Constance. The last of November, in wintry weather, 
she set out upon her journey, and though dififtculties 
were raised at every stage of her progress, she at 
length reached Constance. Here she was compelled 
on her arrival to put up at a wretched inn, where it 
was impossible to find room for her household. She 
had but one sitting-room; she was without her piano 
or books; and her only distraction, when she could 
go out, was a walk through the snow-covered streets 
of the town. It is difficult to imagine a duller winter 

1:263 



CHILDHOOD OF PRINCE LOUIS 

place than Constance. The only points of interest are 
the famous Council Hall, the house of John Huss, 
and the place in which he was burned at the stake; 
but there is a magnificent view of the snow-capped 
mountains beyond the lake. Even now, at the height 
of the season, there is scarcely an English or French 
book to be had, and certainly not a newspaper. But 
in 1815, in the dead of winter, a more dreary spot 
could not be imagined, and especially for a person of 
the temperament of Queen Hortense. 

Hortense Immediately began the search for a house, 
and succeeded in finding a comfortable dwelling just 
at the point where the lake flows Into the river Rhine. 
The house commanded a view of the expanse of the 
lake on one side and of the river on the other. The 
place was out of repair, and It was the end of the year 
1 815 before Hortense was finally established with her 
household. Here she remained until February 1817, 
when she concluded the purchase of the old Chateau 
of Arenenberg, which was to be her permanent home 
in Switzerland during the remaining twenty years of 
her life. 



C273 



CHAPTER THREE 

1815-1831 

LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

Exile at Constance — The Chateau of Arenenberg — Character 
of Hortense — Education of a Prince — At Augsburg and 
Thun — Death of Eugene — The July Revolution — The 
Italian Insurrection — Death of Napoleon Louis — Flight 
from Ancona to Paris — Louis PhiHppe — First Visit to 
England — Return to Arenenberg 

HAVING purchased the lo February 1817 
for the sum of 44,000 francs the Chateau 
of Arenenberg, Hortense took possession 
during the summer of that year and occupied herself 
with making It as attractive as possible. She had as 
neighbors her brother Eugene, who had built a house 
on the lake, and her cousin Stephanie, the Grand 
Duchess of Baden, who had a summer place at Man- 
nenbach. 

The Chateau, located about six miles west of Con- 
stance, stands on a magnificently wooded hill, over a 
thousand feet above the level of the sea. It overlooks, 
not the Lake of Constance itself, but what is known 
as the Unter See, an expansion of the Rhine where 
the river leaves the lake, and it is charmingly situated 
opposite the Isle of Reichenau. 

Arenenberg, in spite of its name, possessed very 
little of the character of a chateau either in its exterior 
architecture or in its interior arrangements. The en- 
trance was very simple, and the park around the 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

house did not give the idea of an extensive domain. 
The site however was very picturesque, with its 
magnificent view over the Lake of Constance, and 
the valley, with the dark line of the Black Forest in 
the background. In the gardens the attention of the 
visitor was drawn to the great number of rare shrubs 
and plants. The rooms of the mansion, although 
small in size, were adorned with a magnificent col- 
lection of objets d'art. 

Jerrold, in his "Life of Napoleon III," states that, 
at the time Hortense purchased Arenenberg, it was 
a little old-fashioned chateau, commanding superb 
views of the lake and river and landscape, sheltered 
around by fine timber and approached on all sides 
through vineyards. The entrance was reached by an 
old drawbridge. It was just the spot to appeal to the 
romantic imagination of a woman like Hortense. It 
was a fine old feudal seat, which she transformed into 
a palace. To-day not much more than the shell of the 
original house remains. A broad terrace was thrown 
out, from which there is a magnificent view. Winding 
paths, shady groves, arbors and shrubbery were con- 
trived. At the time Hortense bought it, the Chateau 
was surrounded by walls — it was a fortified place. 
During her life-time the house was filled with relics 
from Malmaison. It was a museum of Napoleonic 
souvenirs and family portraits. Unfortunately some 
of the finest pieces were removed to Paris during the 
Second Empire and perished in the destruction of the 
Tuileries and Saint-Cloud. 

Arenenberg was later given by the Emperor Napo- 
leon to Eugenie, who made frequent visits there dur- 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

ing the palmy days of the Second Empire, and later, 
with the young Prince Imperial, when she was living 
in exile in England. In the first moments of his mis- 
fortune, in 1870, the thoughts of the Emperor turned 
to his former home in Switzerland, and he sent to the 
Chateau the little iron bedstead which he had used 
during the fatal campaign of Sedan, and it was placed 
in his mother's room beside the bed on which she 
died. The carriage in which he was borne away to 
captivity, and the Imperial fourgon, were also sent 
to Arenenberg. 

For the present, the wanderings of Hortense and 
Louis were at an end. But, notwithstanding the quiet 
life which they led, for many years they were not 
free from the watchful eyes of the French secret 
police. All they could learn, however, was that Hor- 
tense received quite frequent visits from the outside 
world, that she was always ready to help her neigh- 
bors who were in need, and that she was much be- 
loved by all the people of the canton. What the police 
had no means of learning was that Hortense kept 
alive in her soul the fire of faith in the future of the 
Bonaparte cause, and that she only awaited the 
moment when her son should be old enough to learn 
from her the principles and the duties of a militant 
imperialism. To the education supervised by his 
mother, the future Emperor owed the ideals and 
aspirations which through many years of failure 
were to be the guiding star of his life. Like his uncle 
the Great Emperor, Louis Napoleon had much of the 
fatalist in his character. 

Though little suspected at the time, the connect- 

1:303 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

ing link between the First and Second Empires was 
Hortense, the daughter of Josephine and the mother 
of Louis Napoleon. In spite of her frail appearance, 
her quiet life in a secluded district of Switzerland, her 
air of detachment from all that was going on in the 
great world outside, Hortense possessed an energy 
and vitality of spirit which no one realized. Of a lan- 
guid temperament, in the ordinary affairs of every- 
day life she usually complied with the wishes of others. 
But it was very different when any question of real 
importance was to be decided. Then she showed the 
greatest decision of character, a reserve of moral 
force which surprised everybody. 

As we have already seen, Hortense was not a model 
wife, and was not above reproach in this respect, 
notwithstanding the excuse she had for her conduct. 
But she was a perfect mother, and to the education 
of her son she gave all that was best in her. To her 
maternal duties she devoted all the thought and at- 
tention vv^hich King Louis accused her of not showing 
as a wife. She was never demonstrative in her ten- 
derness towards her sons and brought them up in the 
simplest and most natural manner. In the family they 
were always addressed by their names of Napoleon 
and Louis and never as "Prince." At Saint-Leu in 
1 8 14 the boys were much surprised when the royal 
visitors at the Chateau In speaking to them used the 
term "Monseigneur." Hortense was always the soul 
of generosity. During the last day of the visit of Napo- 
leon at Malmaison, in 18 15, when his mother and 
other members of the family were importuning the 
Emperor for money, Hortense brought to him and 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

insisted upon his accepting her handsomest diamond 
necklace. Her heart was nearly broken when she lost 
her eldest child at The Hague, and according to 
Madame de Remusat she never forgot or forgave 
the conduct of her husband prior to the birth of Louis 
Napoleon in believing her capable of an intrigue 
galante at a time when plunged in grief she only 
wished for death. It was then that she conceived such 
a feeling of hatred and contempt for the jealous and 
suspicious nature of Louis that she resolved never to 
live with him again. It was also a terrible blow to her 
later when she was forced by the decree of the French 
courts to yield to her husband the possession of her 
second son Napoleon Louis, who as a boy possessed 
a charming spirit and a very precocious mind. After 
that all her hopes and aspirations were centered in 
Louis. We shall see how the future Napoleon the 
Third reflected in his character and in his acts the 
sweet and romantic, but at the same time strong and 
positive nature of his mother. 

As a child Louis Napoleon was quiet and good, but 
gave no indications of possessing extraordinary talent 
or more than average intelligence. His mother made 
no attempt to hurry his education, but she lost no 
opportunity of studying his character; and, in talk- 
ing and playing with him at this early age, she en- 
deavored to develop his mind slowly, so that when 
the time came for him to have a regular teacher he 
could make rapid progress. His first master was the 
good Abbe Bernard, who did but little to awaken his 
interest in his studies. After several years, during 
which he made little progress, it was thought best 

1:323 




> S I*.," •" H\ 



LOUIS, KING OF HOLLAND 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

to confide the direction of his education to more 
capable hands. 

His next professor was Philippe Le Bas, a man of 
very different character. Son of an old member of 
the National Convention, a follower of Robespierre, 
brought up in the hard school of toil and poverty, he 
was a man of severe taste and scrupulous integrity. 
It was only after much hesitation that he decided to 
leave his family in Paris and accept the new position 
to which he had been highly recommended by friends 
of Hortense. At the very outset he recognized the 
fact that in Louis he had to do with an unusual char- 
acter, at once sweet and strong, timid and restrained. 
Also that so far the boy had learned practically noth- 
ing of the subjects which he had studied, and that his 
education must be recommenced from the first rudi- 
ments. Hortense had placed him in full charge of his 
pupil, and he began by trying to create around him a 
new atmosphere. There was to be no more interfer- 
ence by the household ; all of his meals were to be sim- 
ple and frugal and taken in company with his tutor. 
As Louis was of a very nervous temperament, all 
violent exercises were forbidden him, horse-back 
riding, skating, even dancing. He found that his 
pupil had a natural aptitude for learning, but very 
little precise knowledge. For his age, he was very 
backward. He was completely lacking in concentra- 
tion and had a great distaste for serious study. Le Bas 
began by endeavoring to arouse his intelligence, to 
excite his amour-propre. Louis was naturally so sweet 
and amiable that he quickly responded to the interest 
which his tutor took in him, and formed a real affec- 

1:33] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

tion for Le Bas. Under the good Abbe there had been 
no regular hours either for meals or for study. A 
radical reform was at once inaugurated by Le Bas. 
Each hour had its appointed task. Many of our school 
boys of to-day would consider very severe the regime 
of study and exercise to which Prince Louis submitted 
without a murmur. His advancement was slow but 
sure. The daily walks which he took for his health 
were enlivened by lessons in natural history and 
astronomy. So much trouble and effort had its re- 
ward, and both the master and Hortense were well 
pleased with the rapid progress of the pupil. All his 
after-life Louis Napoeon was to show in his acts and 
his policies the strange mixture of despotism and 
liberalism which he received by inheritance and by 
education. It was a singular chance by which the 
nephew and heir of the modern Caesar, who was also 
to win his way to absolute power by a coup d'etat, 
should have had his young intelligence guided by the 
son of the ancien conventionnel, an ardent believer 
in the rights of the people. 

Although Louis had made very satisfactory prog- 
ress in his studies, in the spring of 1821 Le Bas ad- 
vised Hortense to put her son in a public school at 
Augsburg in Bavaria, where he felt that competi- 
tion with other boys of his own age would both 
stimulate and encourage him. After Easter he entered 
the school, where at first he was at a great disad- 
vantage on account of his ignorance of the German 
language. Le Bas was much pleased at the stand 
taken by his pupil, writing his father that in a class 
of ninety-four the young Prince had taken the fifty- 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

fourth place. A little later he advanced to the rank 
of twenty-fourth in his class. In the gymnasium at 
Augsburg his love of study and his mental qualities 
were gradually revealed. He was stronger in literary 
subjects than in mathematics, and he became an adept 
in physical exercises, such as fencing, riding and 
swimming. His mother, in her joy and pride over the 
reports of his progress, was arranging a special fete 
in his honor at the Chateau when the sad news was 
received of the death of the Great Emperor. 

During his school days at Brienne, Napoleon had 
written out a lesson in geography which he left un- 
finished, the last word being the name of the island of 
Saint Helena. Who could have imagined then what a 
sinister role this little island, then almost unknown, 
was to play in his career! Here he drew his last breath, 
after nearly six years of captivity, 5 May 1821, at 
ten minutes to six in the afternoon, just as the sun 
was setting. The last words which he had articulated 
before becoming unconscious the night before were: 

" France — Mon fils — Armee." 

Both Hortense and Eugene were profoundly af- 
fected by the sad news. Louis was so touched by his 
mother's grief that he wrote her a letter of consola- 
tion in which he addressed her as: "La fiUe aimee de 
TEmpereur." 

Prince Eugene did not long survive Napoleon. He 
died suddenly at Munich 21 February 1824, of an 
attack of apoplexy, at the early age of forty-two. The 
end of his life had been very tranquil. After the fall 
of the Empire he had retired to the Kingdom of his 
father-in-law, where he bore the title of Duke of 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Leuchtenberg. In his palace at Munich he had ar- 
ranged a chambre des souvenirs which contained a large 
collection of objects which had belonged to Napoleon 
and Josephine. 

The six children of Prince Eugene all made distin- 
guished marriages. His eldest son, Eugene, married 
Queen Maria of Portugal in January 1835, but died 
only seven weeks later. The second son, Max, who 
succeeded his brother as Duke of Leuchtenberg, 
married the Grand Duchess Marie, eldest daughter 
of the Czar Nicholas. They had a large family of 
children, who were prominent in court circles in Russia 
during the Imperial regime. His eldest daughter, 
Josephine, in 1823, married Oscar, the Crown- Prince 
of Sweden, son of Napoleon's former Marshal Berna- 
dotte, and was the grandmother of the present King 
Gustavus the Fifth. The second daughter, Eugenie, 
became the wife of a Prince of the Hohenzollern 
family. Amelie married Dom Pedro, the first Emperor 
of Brazil, and was in London in 1831 at the time of 
the visit of Hortense and Louis, her husband having 
just abdicated in favor of his son. The youngest 
daughter married the Count of Wiirtemberg. 

During the lifetime of her brother. Queen Hor- 
tense lived a part of the year in Bavaria to be near 
him. After his death she no longer had any reason for 
visiting Germany, so she spent all her time at Arenen- 
berg. 

As Louis was becoming more mature, Hortense now 
felt that he should have another tutor than Le Bas, 
who was imbued with the ideas of the Revolution. 
His successor was a democratic imperialist named 

1:363 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

Vieillard, who had previously been employed by 
King Louis as instructor for their son Napoleon. 
Vieillard remained his intimate friend and trusted 
adviser to the end of his life. 

Louis seems to have remained in the college at 
Augsburg more than four years, a longer period than 
stated by most of his historians. Here the most me- 
thodical part of his education was pursued, under the 
eyes of his mother as well as his tutor. Even when his 
mother finally left Bavaria in 1824 after the death 
of her brother Eugene, Louis remained behind with 
his tutor. 

After the completion of his civil education in the 
college at Augsburg, Louis went to the camp at Thun 
in Switzerland. Here he took up and completed a 
course in military training, with Colonel Dufour and 
Colonel Fournier, both old officers of Napoleon, who 
instructed him in artillery and military engineering. 

During his vacations, Louis travelled with his 
mother over every part of Switzerland, — he visited 
his uncle Eugene, he went with his mother to Rome, 
where she spent all her winters from 1824 to 183 1, 
except the winter of 1827 which was passed in Geneva. 
In the course of these travels he became acquainted 
through the fascination of his mother and her love of 
society with many of the leading men of the time. 
This helped to develop his mind rapidly. 

The third Lord Malmesbury, who made the ac- 
quaintance of Louis at Rome In 1829, and who re- 
mained his close friend throughout his life, has given 
In his memoirs a description of the Prince at that 
time. He says: "Although short he was very active 

1:373 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

and muscular. He excelled in all physical exercises. 
He was a remarkable swimmer, an admirable horse- 
man, and a noted gymnast. His face was grave and 
dark, but redeemed by a singularly bright smile. 
Such was the personal appearance of Louis Napoleon 
at the age of twenty-one years." 

His portrait has been sketched at greater length 
by another who knew him well about this same 
time : 

"The Prince has an agreeable face, is of middle 
height, and has a military air. At first sight, I was 
struck with his resemblance to the Prince Eugene 
and the Empress Josephine, but I have not remarked 
the same resemblance to the Emperor. The moustache 
which he wears, with a slight imperial, gives to his 
face a too specially military character, not to interfere 
with his resemblance to his uncle. But on observing 
the essential features, one is not long in perceiving 
that the Napoleonic type Is reproduced with an as- 
tonishing fidelity: the same high and broad and 
straight forehead, the same finely proportioned nose, 
the same gray eyes, although the expression Is soft- 
ened. There are above all the same lines and the same 
inclination of the head, so marked with the Napo- 
leonic character." 

In 1825 Prince Napoleon, at the age of twenty-one, 
married his cousin Charlotte, second daughter of 
King Joseph, but continued to reside at Florence 
with his father King Louis. Napoleon seems to have 
had all the fine qualities and striking presence of his 
uncle Eugene. He was a stalwart, bold, dashing 
fellow, full of health and spirits. There were no limits 

CSS] 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

to the love and admiration of Louis for his elder 
brother. 

The French Revolution of 1830 found Napoleon 
in Italy, and Louis at the military school of Thun. 
Both were aroused to action by the news from Paris. 
Though separated, their feelings were the same. They 
both wrote their mother in the same terms: 

"France at last is free. Our exile is over. The 
country is open — no matter how, we will serve it." 
Hortense, however, was far from sharing their hopes. 

Prince Napoleon was urged to come to France to 
work to put his cousin Napoleon the Second on the 
throne. But a new sovereign, Louis Philippe, had 
already been chosen, and he refused to take any ac- 
tion which might result in plunging the country in 
civil war. 

In October 1830, Queen Hortense, accompanied 
by Prince Louis, set out from Arenenberg to pass the 
winter as usual in Rome. She travelled by way of the 
Tyrol to Venice, and thence by Bologna to Florence, 
where she passed a happy fortnightwith her two sons, 
the father, King Louis, being for the moment in Roine. 
She found that the young Napoleon had received 
communications from Paris urging him in the absence 
of his cousin the Duke of Reichstadt to take the lead 
of the Bonaparte family, and that he had refused from 
m.otives which did him honor. 

The middle of November, Hortense started for 
Rome with Louis. Arrived in Rome, the Queen pre- 
pared to spend the winter in her usual fashion. But 
it was not to be. The winter was to prove to be the 
most unhappy of her life. 

1:393 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The death of the Pope, Pius the Eighth, the last 
day of November, was the signal for an insurrection 
in the States of the Church. The whole Peninsula 
was in a state of great unrest. All of the secret socie- 
ties were confident that the time had now arrived to 
carry out their purposes. Leaders, however, were lack- 
ing. There was no unity of purpose, no guiding hand. 
In half a dozen places there sprang up as many sepa- 
rate and distinct provisional governments. Louis, who 
had shown his sympathy with the revolutionary move- 
ment, was seized in Rome and escorted across the 
frontier of the Papal States. He went to Florence and 
joined his brother. Here they were approached by 
Menotti, one of the chiefs of the insurrectionary 
movement, who appealed to the two young Princes 
to join the cause and strike a blow for the freedom of 
down-trodden Italy. He represented to them that 
their name would be a rallying-point for patriots 
from the Alps to the Strait of Messina. With his 
earnest manner and persuasive tongue, he aroused 
the enthusiasm of Napoleon and Louis, who threw 
themselves into the movement heart and soul. 

The 20 February 1831, Napoleon left his young wife 
and his father at Florence, and with his brother Louis 
went to join the insurgents in the Romagna. Both 
King Louis and Queen Hortense attempted to dis- 
suade their sons from this perilous enterprise. But 
Prince Louis wrote to his mother: "Nous avons pris 
des engagements, nous ne pouvons y manquer." 

One of the consequences of these engagements was 
to be, at a later day, the Italian war of 1859. 

Both of the Princes were given commissions as 

1:40] 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

officers. Louis soon showed the benefit of his mihtary 
training and rendered very valuable service. But the 
Princes soon aroused the jealousy and enmity of the 
other leaders, who claimed that their names and im- 
perial antecedents were a menace to the cause of 
democracy. They therefore resigned their commis- 
sions and volunteered to fight as simple soldiers in 
the ranks. Even this offer was refused. So they left 
the insurgent forces and retired to Bologna. By this 
time the Austrian troops were pouring into Italy, 
and their position was one of extreme peril. The 
authorities were active In their pursuit. 

On the tenth of March, Hortense set out from 
Florence to find her sons and save them from the 
Austrians. A week later, she finally got in communi- 
cation with them. Pushing on towards Ancona, she 
was met by Louis who brought the news of his 
brother*s sudden death at Forll, on the 27 March, 
after only three days' illness, on the eve of the occu- 
pation of the place by the Austrian troops. 

The unfortunate mother, who had just lost her elder 
son, was in mortal terror of also having her only re- 
maining son arrested and condemned as an Insurgent. 
It required all of her courage and all of her presence 
of mind to save him. With Louis, who was also 111, 
she went on to Ancona, where she found refuge in the 
house of her nephew. Here Louis also came down 
with the measles, which had been the cause of the 
death of his brother, and which seem to have been of 
a malignant type. 

By this time the insurrection had been suppressed, 
and the town was occupied by the Austrian Army. 

C413 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The general in command, Geppert, chose the house 
where Hortense was staying for his headquarters, 
and she was in constant fear that the hiding-place of 
Louis might be discovered. He was seriously ill, and 
could not be moved for several days. Hortense had 
given out the report that Louis had escaped by sea 
to Greece, and this seems to have been believed by 
the Austrians. Hortense apparently succeeded, as 
usual, in fascinating Geppert, who treated her 
with great courtesy, and granted her request for a 
pass through the Austrian lines. As soon as Louis was 
well enough to travel, they left Ancona, early on 
Easter morning. Louis was disguised In the livery of 
a domestic, and sat on the box of his mother's caleche. 

After traversing the greater part of Northern Italy, 
meeting with every kind of accident, and In con- 
tinual danger of discovery and arrest, they finally 
arrived In safety at Genoa. From there they were able 
to travel to Cannes in France without further ad- 
ventures. 

From Cannes they proceeded to Paris, In spite of 
the law of proscription which forbade them to enter 
France. The Intention of Hortense was to remain in 
Paris only long enough to see the King and Inform 
him of her plans and then proceed to Switzerland. 
She felt that she had every reason to expect a cordial 
reception from Louis Philippe on account of favors 
which she had shown his mother and other members 
of his family in the past. 

All of the route traversed by Hortense on her way 
to Paris was full of memories of the past. At Nemours, 
in 1809, by order of the Emperor, she had met her 

n423 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

brother Eugene, summoned from Italy, and an- 
nounced to him the painful news of the coming di- 
vorce of their mother the Empress Josephine. At 
Fontainebleau, she recalled the splendors of the Court 
of Napoleon during the glorious days of the Empire. 
Here she showed her son the Palace where she had 
stayed in 1807 during the brilliant fetes in celebra- 
tion of the Treaty of Tilsit, when the city was crowded 
with foreign princes who came to pay their homage 
to the Great Emperor. Here also she pointed out to 
Louis the place where he was held at the baptismal 
font by Napoleon while Cardinal Fesch, his great- 
uncle, performed the christening ceremony. In the 
cabinet of the Emperor they saw the small table, 
which IS still preserved there, upon which in 18 14 he 
signed his first abdication of the Imperial crown. 

After passing the fortifications of Paris, on their 
arrival, Hortense told the coachman to go by the 
boulevards to the Rue de la Paix and to stop at the 
first hotel he came to. Chance took them to the Hotel 
de HoUande, which still exists in the same street. 
From her little apartment on the first floor she could 
see on the left the boulevard and on the right the 
column of the Place Vendome. 

A few days after her arrival she was received by 
Louis Philippe in a private audience at the Palais 
Royal. The King greeted her very cordially and spoke 
of his own days of exile, when he was obliged to teach 
to gain his living. On the 5 May, anniversary of the 
death of Napoleon, enormous crowds of old soldiers 
filled the Place Vendome, where they placed wreaths 
and crowns of flowers at the foot of the column. This 

1:433 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

spontaneous celebration seems to have aroused the 
fears of the French Ministry, and Hortense and Louis, 
who were still living incognito at the Hotel de Hol- 
lande, received a peremptory order to leave Paris 
immediately. The following day they set out for Eng- 
land. In London, after a temporary stay at Fenton's 
Hotel, they took up their residence in Holies Street, 
where they again resumed their own name, and were 
soon the centre of a brilliant circle of influential 
friends. 

In London, Louis soon entirely recovered his healthy 
which had been delicate since his illness in Italy. 
Much of their time was spent in sight-seeing. They 
visited the Tower, the Thames Tunnel, Richmond 
and Hampton Court. The Duchess of Bedford, whom 
Hortense had entertained in Paris at the time of the 
Peace of Amiens, was especially friendly, and paid 
most marked attention to the exiles, giving a mag- 
nificent fete in their honor at Woburn Abbey. In 
London, Hortense was visited by her niece Amelle, 
married to Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil ; and Prince 
Leopold, soon to become the King of the Belgians, 
called to pay his respects. 

The first of August 1831, Prince Talleyrand, then 
Ambassador of France at the Court of Saint James's, 
sent Hortense word by his niece the Duchesse de 
Dino that he had procured passports for herself and 
her son which would enable them to return safely 
to Switzerland by way of France. After the receipt 
of their passports they spent several days at Tun- 
bridge Wells en route for Dover, where they em- 
barked for Calais. 

C443 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

At Boulogne they visited the site of the former 
camp of the Emperor, at the time he was preparing 
for the invasion of England in 1805. Some historians 
state that they also went to see the lofty marble 
Colunrn of the Grand Army, crowned by a bronze 
statue of the Emperor, but this was not erected until 
some years later. They then travelled directly to 
Chantilly, near Paris, where they stopped to visit the 
Chateau, which during the Empire was given by 
Napoleon to Hortense for her second son Napoleon 
Louis. The Chateau had formerly belonged to the 
Princes of Conde. 

The house of Conde, for many centuries the most 
distinguished in France next to the royal family, was 
descended from Louis de Bourbon, fifth and last son 
of Charles, Due de Vendome, younger brother of 
Antoine, King of Navarre. He was therefore first 
cousin of Henri Quatre. 

The existing Chateau was built by the famous 
Constable de Montmorency, whose grandson and 
heir was beheaded at Toulouse for joining in the 
conspiracy of Gaston d'Orleans, the brother of Louis 
the Thirteenth, against Richelieu. His confiscated 
domains were given by the King to his sister Char- 
lotte, who married the Prince de Conde, and was the 
mother of the Grand Conde, and of the Duchesse 
de Longueville, whose exploits will be remembered 
by all readers of the great historical romances of 
Dumas. 

The magnificence of Chantilly dates from the 
Grand Conde, who in 1671 gave there a celebrated 
fete In honor of Louis the Fourteenth. It was on this 

Us] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

occasion that the famous cook Vatel killed himself 
because the fish was late. 

The last of the family was the Due <Je Bourbon, 
father of the Due d'Enghien executed by Napoleon, 
and whomarried his cousin, Louise d'Orleans. After 
the Second Restoration, he bought Saint-Leu of 
Hortense, and committed suicide there a few days 
before the Revolution of 1830. Chantilly was be- 
queathed with most of his property to his great- 
nephew, the Due d'Aumale, the balance being left 
to his English mistress Sophia Dawes, known as the 
Baronne de Feucheres. 

The first and last King of the Orleans family, which 
was descended from the Due d'Orleans, younger 
brother of Louis the Fourteenth, was Louis Philippe, 
who was King of the French from 1830 to 1848. The 
Due d'Aumale was his most distinguished son. 

The Bourbon family became extinct with the death 
in 1885 of the Comte de Chambord, the grandson of 
Charles the Tenth. The present head of the Orleans 
family is the Due d'Orleans, son of the Comte de 
Paris, who was a grandson of Louis Philippe. 

The Chateau of Chantilly, which was partially 
destroyed during the Revolution, was rebuilt on a 
magnificent scale between 1876 and 1882 by the 
Due d'Aumale. At his death in 1897 he left the Cha- 
teau with its magnificent collection of paintings and 
sculptures to the Institute of France, and it is now 
known as the Musee Conde. 

Hortense thought it best not to enter Paris, but she 
spent several days in the neighborhood. She could 

1461 



LIFE IN SWITZERLAND 

not bring herself to visit her old home at Saint-Leu, 
on account of the many mournful associations con- 
nected with it. She went however to Rueil to see the 
tomb of her mother. 

In 1824, the year of his death, Eugene had pur- 
chased with his sister Hortense one of the chapels 
of the church at Rueil in order to build a tomb for 
Josephine. This monument, of white marble, bears 
the figure of the Empress, dressed as in the corona- 
tion painting by David, kneeling at a prie-dieu, and 
is inscribed: "A Josephine, Eugene et Hortense, 
1825." The church itself was afterwards rebuilt by the 
Emperor Napoleon the Third, who had erected on 
the other side of the altar the tomb of his mother, 
with the figure of the Queen kneeling and crowned 
by an angel, and inscribed: "A la Reine Hortense, le 
Prince Louis Bonaparte." 

After having prayed before the tomb of her mother, 
Hortense wished to visit Malmaison, which is only 
about half a mile from Rueil, but was refused admis- 
sion as she lacked the necessary permit from the new 
owner. She therefore returned to Switzerland without 
having seen either of her former homes. 



1:47a 



CHAPTER FOUR 
1831-1836 
YEARS OF WAITING 

Life at Arenenberg — Death of the Duke of Reichstadt — Louis 
Napoleon Head of His Party — Captain Bonaparte at 
Thun — Political Activity — Visitors at the Chateau — 
Interview with La Fayette 

HORTENSE and Louis passed the autumn 
and winter quietly at Arenenberg. The 
Queen, after the trying experiences of the 
summer, was glad to find herself once more in her 
quiet Swiss home, with its beautiful surroundings, 
where one heard only the song of the birds and saw 
only the cultivators at their work. Without giving 
up her hopes for the future, for the moment she was 
content to be forgotten by the outside world, in a 
refuge where she could have peace and quiet. 

But in her solitude, Hortense never ceased to 
dream of the future which lay before the bearer of the 
magic name of Napoleon. Wherever she might be 
— at Geneva, in Italy, on the shores of Lake Con- 
stance, she carefully followed the political movements 
of the great nation over which her step-father had 
reigned. With her clear intelligence she foresaw a 
great future for her son. She lost no occasion of im- 
pressing upon Louis her political ideas. She told him 
that the name he bore would never be forgotten in 
Europe, and was a certain guarantee of a privileged 
position. "You never can tell," she said, "when popu- 

1:483 



r0MiM'£iifil&tii&'kM<i'\'',',>'k I't; . .».; 





QUEEN HORTENSE 



YEARS OF WAITING 

lar imagination will raise to the skies the bearer of a 
great name.'' 

"A woman of intelligence has always been the 
guiding star of men called to superior destiny," says 
Loliee. From Hortense, Louis Napoleon derived the 
principle, which he made the governing idea of his 
politics, that popular crowds are not guided by 
reason, but swayed by sentiment. From his mother 
he received not only his political training, but he also 
inherited the best side of his adventurous nature, 
the dreamy and romantic tenderness, the quiet 
obstinacy, the unalterable self-confidence, the force 
of character, and even the delicate sensibility. 

The Prince, for his part, continued to occupy him- 
self with his political and military studies. His 
thought was to keep himself before the public by his 
writings if he could not by his deeds. At the same 
time he did not neglect his daily exercise in swimming 
and equitation in which he excelled. A contemporary 
writer, Alphonse de Candolle, relates how, at Geneva, 
he saw the Prince spring from his mount and, after 
making the horse trot before him, jump into the 
saddle like a circus rider, displaying great suppleness 
as well as muscular force. "Yet he did not seem to 
be built for a good horseman, being thick of body and 
short of limbs," he adds. Many years later, his only 
son, the young Prince Imperial, was to lose his life 
in Africa because he lacked his father's skill in horse- 
manship, and could not mount without the aid of the 
stirrups. 

From his earliest childhood, Hortense had insisted 
that Louis should be trained in all kinds of sports, 

n493 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

that he might acquire force, agility, promptness, and 
the moral qualities, decision, coolness and bravery, 
which go with such physical fitness. 

Like Roosevelt, Louis Napoleon was very delicate 
and even feeble in early life, but like the great Ameri- 
can he became by force of physical training a strong, 
healthy man in later years. 

His mother, however, with all her love and devo- 
tion, could not entirely fill his life. He felt the lack 
of a companion of his own age. He thought of his 
brother Napoleon, who had married very young, and 
dreamed of a love-match for himself. He wrote to his 
father in Florence: 

" J'ai tellement besoin d'affection que si je trouvais 
une femme qui me plut et qui convint a ma famille, 
je ne balancerais pas a Tepouser. Donnez-moi des 
conseils." 

Hortense, from whom he had no secrets, was not 
kept in ignorance of his matrimonial projects. Not- 
withstanding her own unhappy life with her husband, 
she was far from being opposed to matrimony in 
principle. "It is the destiny of a woman," she said, 
"to have a home, a good husband, pretty children 
to bring up. What good is a woman without that?" 
In accord with these ideas, Hortense, like every 
good woman, was a fervent match-maker. But she 
had not yet found the ideal mate for her beloved 
Louis. 

It was at this time that a great event in their lives, 
for the moment, changed the course of their thoughts : 
the King of Rome, Napoleon the Second, the Aus- 
trian Duke of Reichstadt, died at Vienna, 22 July 



YEARS OF WAITING 

1832, after eighteen years of gilded captivity in the 
capital of his grandfather. No sensitive heart can 
avoid a feeling of sadness over the mournful end of 
a career which had begun with such a promise of 
glory and happiness. 

The little Napoleon, in spite of a physical resem- 
blance to his father, had much more of his Austrian 
mother in his disposition and character. It is difficult 
now to say, whether, given another environment and 
a different education, "Taiglon" might not have de- 
veloped into "I'aigle." His admirers tell us of his 
martial ardor, of his favorite amusement as a child 
of playing with toy soldiers, of his training his boy 
comrades in the manual of arms; but his mother 
Marie-Louise was probably nearer right when she 
replied to the Prince de Ligne, who said he had found 
a martial expression in his eyes: "II est pacifique 
autant que moi." As the French very expressively 
put it: "II etait doux comme un agneau." 

The death of the Duke of Reichstadt brought about 
grave political consequences. Louis Napoleon Bona- 
parte was now the head of the family. The two lives 
which stood between him and the succession had been 
removed within a period of sixteen months. 

During the lifetime of his brother, who was his 
idol and his model, Louis had been content to play a 
subordinate part. From now on he was the head 
of the family, "the slave of a mission." His life no 
longer belonged to himself alone, to do with it as he 
pleased. His future was pledged to the interests of his 
dynasty and of his country, France. He was the only 
Bonaparte living who had sufficient energy and abil- 

C513 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

ity to seize the heritage of power and glory which the 
Great Emperor had left to his family. Joseph, the 
eldest of the family, had no wish to take up the heavy 
burden of the succession. Jerome, the youngest 
brother of the Emperor, thought the family chances 
were so small that he called himself an Orleanist, 
with the idea of being allowed to resume his residence 
in France through the clemency of that family. 
Louis, who was so crippled by rheumatism that he 
could hardly walk, had no ambition to assume the 
responsibility of trying to restore the fallen fortunes 
of the family. He was the last person to imagine that 
a visionary like his youngest son would ever occupy 
the throne of the Great Emperor. Lucien, ruined 
both in fortune and in health, then almost at the 
point of death, cared so little for the family suc- 
cession that he had had his children naturalized as 
Roman citizens. 

This general, if tacit, withdrawal of all claims in 
his favor, well answered the ambitious plans of the 
son of Hortense. After a visit the following year to 
his uncle, King Joseph, in England, who wished to 
discuss with him the new political situation brought 
about by the death of his cousin, the Duke of Reich- 
stadt, Louis Napoleon no longer hesitated to pose as 
the inheritor of the Imperial claims. Joseph, who was 
old and cautious, hardly understood the plans of his 
nephew, and appears to have been somewhat bored 
and tired by what seemed to him to be only chimeri- 
cal ideas. His advice was to be patient and wait until 
the times were more propitious. Louis on the other 
hand was burning with impatience to begin the con- 



YEARS OF WAITING 

flict at once. It was another instance of the proverb: 
"Old men for counsel, young men for war." Louis 
Napoleon would have saved himself many years of 
exile and imprisonment if he had been willing to follow 
the advice of old King Joseph. 

As all of his uncles, the former Kings, had with- 
drawn from the field, Louis Napoleon remained as 
the only representative of the Napoleonic legend. 
Born the third son of the Emperor's younger brother, 
Louis, King of Holland, three times the stroke of 
death had now removed those who stood between 
him and the Imperial succession. The year before his 
birth, his eldest brother. Napoleon Charles, had been 
carried off by the croup. The second brother. Napo- 
leon Louis, had died of the measles, after only three 
days' illness, in Italy in 1831. Finally, his cousin, the 
Second Napoleon, had been laid to his eternal rest 
in the Church of the Capucins at Vienna. Without 
any wish or even expectation on his part, all who 
stood in his way had one by one been removed 
by the destroying Angel. He was now alone at the 
foot of the path which led to the summits of human 
grandeur. 

The year following the journey of Hortense and 
Louis to England, they received at Arenenberg a 
visit from Chateaubriand. It was passing strange 
that in her misfortunes Hortense should have re- 
ceived the homage of the writer who In 18 14 had 
penned against the fallen Em.peror that violent libel 
entitled; "Buonaparte and the Bourbons," which 
was of so great assistance to the royal cause. It was 

C S3 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

certainly a great tribute to the charm of Hortense that 
this Bourbon partisan of other days found pleasure 
in sitting at the fireside of the former Queen of Hol- 
land. In his "Memoires d'outre-tombe" he has drawn 
this charming picture of the life at Arenenberg: 

"The 29 August 1832 I went to dine at Arenenberg, 
which is situated on a kind of promontory in a chain 
of steep hills. The Queen of Holland has built here 
a chateau, or, if you wish, a pavilion. The view, 
which is extended but sad, dominates the lower lake 
of Constance, which is only an expansion of the 
Rhine over the inundated fields. The other side of 
the lake, you see the sombre woods, remnants of the 
Black Forest, and some white birds flying under a 
gray sky, driven by a freezing gale. There, after 
having sat upon a throne, after having been out- 
rageously calumniated. Queen Hortense has come to 
perch upon a rock. 

"As strangers, there were Madame Recamier, 
Monsieur Vieillard, and myself. Madame la Duchesse 
de Saint-Leu, which was the name then borne by 
Queen Hortense, had well outlived her difficult posi- 
tion as Queen and Demoiselle de Beauharnais. 

"Prince Louis lives in a separate pavilion, where 
I saw weapons of all kinds, topographic and strategic 
maps, things which made one think by chance of the 
blood of the Conqueror. Prince Louis is a studious 
young man, well-informed, very honorable, and 
naturally serious." 

Madame Recamier has also given in her "Sou- 
venirs" some interesting details of this visit of 
Chateaubriand. She says: 

1:543 



YEARS OF WAITING 

"Queen Hortense put a gracious coquetry into the 
temporary hospitality which chance led her to extend 
to the faithful servant of the Bourbons, the former 
Minister of Louis XVIII, the author of the immortal 
pamphlet which had so powerfully contributed to the 
fall of the First Empire. 

"Her establishment at Arenenberg was elegant, 
large without display, and her personal manners were 
simple and affectionate. Too much perhaps for one 
to have entire confidence, she made a great pretense 
of a taste for retired life, of a love of nature and an 
aversion for grandeur. It was not without some sur- 
prise, after all her protestations of the renunciation 
of the delusions of fortune, that the visitors saw the 
care which the Duchesse de Saint-Leu and all the 
members of her household took to treat her son 
Prince Louis as a sovereign : he was the first in every- 
thing." 

Later came another visitor, of aspect very different 
from that of the grave Chateaubriand. In his "Mem- 
oirs," Alexandre Dumas has told the story in his usual 
lively manner. It is too long to quote here In full, but 
his account of one of the songs of Queen Hortense 
is worth repeating. He says, in part: 

"After dinner, we returned to the drawing-room. 
Presently Madame de Saint-Leu was begged to in- 
stall herself at the piano. She sang several songs 
that she had recently composed. I ventured to ask 
her for one of her old songs: *Vous me quittez pour 
marcher a la glolre.' She said that the words had 
gone from her memory. I rose, and leaning over my 
chair, I recited the verses to her: 

n ss 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

*Vous me quittez pour marcher a la gloire, 
Mon triste coeur suivra partout vos pas; 
Allez, volez au temple de memoire; 

Suivez I'honneur, mais ne m'oubliez pas. 

*Que faire, helas! dans mes peines cruelles? 

Je cralns la paix autant que les combats: 
Vous y verrez tant de beautes nouvelles, 

Vous leur plairez! — mais ne m'oubliez pas. 

'Oui, vous plairez et vous vaincrez sans cesse; 
Mars et I'Amour suivront partout vos pas: 
De vos succes gardez la douce ivresse, 
Soyez heureux, mais ne m'oubliez pas.' 

"The Queen raised her hand to her eyes to dash 
away a few tears. Then she told me the story of the 
song: In 1808 the rumors of divorce began to spread, 
and when the Emperor was about to start for Wa- 
gram, Josephine begged Monsieur de Segur to write 
her some verses on his departure. He brought her 
these words, and Hortense set them to music and 
sang them to the Emperor the day before he left. 
The Emperor listened to the end, then kissing Jose- 
phine on her forehead, with a sigh, he turned away 
into his study. The Empress burst into tears, for 
from that moment she felt that her fate was decreed." 

Prince Louis had never finished his course of mili- 
tary training which he had begun in 1830, and which 
had been interrupted by the journey with his mother 
to Italy in October and the later events which have 
already been related. At Arenenberg in May 1832 he 
received formal notice that he had been awarded the 
title of honorary citizen of the Helvetian Republic. 

i:s63 



YEARS OF WAITING 

The future Emperor expressed in the warmest terms 
the satisfaction which he felt at being able to call 
f himself the citizen of a free country. 

To complete his term of instruction, he arranged 
to enter directly the Swiss army with the grade of 
honorary officer. In 1834 he began his new military 
apprenticeship under the name of Captain Bona- 
parte, thus following in the footsteps of the greatest 
member of the family. To add to the resemblance, 
he had chosen as his arm of the service the artillery, in 
which the Emperor had served in his youth. He was 
assiduous in his attention to his military duties, strict 
as an officer, but kind to his subordinates, always ready 
to share with the privates the soup and the straw of 
the bivouac. He was well liked by all on account of the 
simplicity of his manners and his frank cordiality. 

As the result of his studies and his experience he 
published a "Manual of Artillery," dedicated to the 
officers of the camp at Thun, the circulation of which 
was not confined to the borders of Switzerland. The 
work received the approbation of officers in the best 
armies of Europe. The success of this manual greatly 
increased his self-confidence, and he began to lose his 
former timidity. To the members of his party who 
came to Arenenberg to pay their respects to Queen 
Hortense he stated, with an assurance that astonished 
them, the certainty that he would one day be Em- 
peror of the French. 

His activity at this time was very great. He was 
full of ardor and enthusiasm. No means were neg- 
lected to keep himself before the eyes of the world. 
The events in France, the recent emeutes at Paris, 

ns73 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the imprudence of the Government, and the attacks 
of its opponents, vividly excited his disposition to 
become a conspirator. 

At this time he paid a visit to his cousin the Grand 
Duchess Stephanie in Baden, where he was very near 
the French frontier. Here he met many of his par- 
tisans. Hortense, in her correspondence with him, 
urged him to go slow, and await an opportune mo- 
ment, but not, like his uncles, to go to the other ex- 
treme of silence and inaction. 

In the very adroit letters which he wrote at this 
time to personal friends in France, he announced his 
theories of government, which permitted almost any 
interpretation which the reader wished to find in 
them. In one letter he writes: "Authority which is 
not based upon popular election is naturally turned 
to arrest the progress of civilization," and he adds: 
"Napoleon faisait tout pour le peuple, et le peuple, 
a son tour, a tout fait pour Napoleon." 

He had recently had an interview with La Fayette, 
a man ever prompt to follow each turn of the wheel 
of fortune, whose fame has always been much higher 
in the United States than in his native land. This 
notorious turn-coat, who, after Waterloo, had pre- 
sented to the Chambers the motion for the dethrone- 
ment of Napoleon, promised his support to the new 
Imperial candidate. He said: "The Government can- 
not continue: your name is the only one which is 
popular." And, doubly unfaithful to the house which 
he had helped to elevate, he added: "Osez done et je 
vous aiderai de tous mes moyens, quand le moment 
sera venu." Louis replied confidently: "II viendra!" 



CHAPTER FIVE 

1836-1837 

THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

Revival of the Napoleonic Legend — The July Monarchy — 
Persigny at Arenenberg — Preparations at Baden — 
Eleonore Brault — Precedent of the Return from Elba — 
The Meeting at Strasbourg — The Thirtieth October — End 
of the Great Adventure — Hortense Rushes to Paris — 
Clemency of the King — Banishment to America — Days 
in New York — Return to Arenenberg — Death of Hortense 

IN 1 814, at the time of the return of the Bourbons, 
France was so weary of war, after a quarter of a 
century of almost continual conflict, that in 
many quarters the coming of the Allies was actually 
welcomed. Twenty years later the general sentiment 
had entirely changed. The horrors of war were for- 
gotten, and only the memory of the glorious days of 
the Empire remained. A surprising warlike fervor 
took possession of the imagination of the people. In 
ardent lyrics the poets sang of the victories of the 
Revolution and the Empire. A legendary ideal grew 
up in which the memory of Napoleon shone, free from 
the shadows of misery and disaster which had dark- 
ened the last years of his reign. With a political 
blindness now hard to understand, the Orleans Gov- 
ernment threw itself into the popular current, and 
thought to strengthen its position by favoring the 
new movement. With the desire to glorify the tri- 

i:s9 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

color, which since the Revolution of 1830 had once 
more become the national ensign of France, the 
Government of Louis Philippe did everything in its 
power to encourage the cult of the Napoleonic legend. 
The embers of Imperialism, fanned by their thought- 
less breath, once more began to glow. Steps were 
taken to obtain the permission of the English Gov- 
ernment to bring back the remains of Napoleon from 
Saint Helena, and a place was prepared for their 
reception under the dome of the Invalides. In brief, 
everything possible was done to encourage a renewal 
of the Bonaparte plots. The House of Orleans played 
a dangerous game in exalting the imagination of the 
people, in displaying again the glorious flags of Aus- 
terlitz and Jena. They simply put arms into the hands 
of the representative of the race who only awaited 
a favorable moment to again enter upon the scene. 

Louis Napoleon was not slow to take advantage of 
the opportunity. " It is not only the ashes," he wrote, 
"it is also the ideas of the Emperor which should be 
brought back to France." 

The July Monarchy had furnished the torch to set 
fire to its own house! 

For some time past, Louis Napoleon had entered 
into very close relations with a man whose uncon- 
trolled zeal was at a later date to embarrass him seri- 
ously. This was Fialin, known later under the Second 
Empire by the title of Due de Persigny. Without 
estate or fortune, although he talked much of a large 
inheritance; of very doubtful birth, although he 
claimed to belong to one of the most illustrious 

n6o3 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

families of Brittany, he had been dismissed some 
time before from the army, where he had held a 
subordinate rank, for a notorious act of insubordina- 
tion. For six years he had been looking for a favorable 
opening for the employment of his not inconsiderable 
talents for intrigue. He had been a royalist, he was 
equally ready to turn republican, but for the moment 
he was devoted to the Napoleonic cause. He was still 
known as Fialin, but he had recently dropped his 
family name to take the title of Vicomte de Persigny, 
which, he declared, belonged to his family, although 
he had previously neglected to bear it. Later, when 
he had been created a count and duke of the Empire 
by the favor of Napoleon the Third, he claimed close 
relationship to the family of Montmorency and other 
great houses distinguished in the history of France, 
even the princely and royal family of Orleans. At 
this earlier date, however, notwithstanding his pre- 
tended relationship with the Orleans Princes, he was 
devoted to the Bonaparte cause. 

Fialin had already paid several visits to Arenen- 
berg, which had now become a regular hotbed of 
conspiracy. Hortense was the stimulating spirit of 
the movement, although she still maintained her pose 
of complete indifference. In an unpublished frag- 
ment of her "Memoirs" she wrote at this time : " It is 
singular that I have never wished for anything but 
quiet and repose, and that destiny has always placed 
me en evidence. My ambition had been to live there, 
ignored, forgotten, for the rest of my days." 

Early in the year 1836, Fialin joined the Prince 
and his party, then In process of formation, at Baden. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The place of reunion was the house of a very beau- 
tiful singer, Eleonore Brault, widow of an English- 
man, Sir Gordon Archer. She was a woman of very 
adventurous spirit, who was said to have hunted the 
tiger when in India with her husband, before she 
charmed the capitals of Europe with her beautiful 
voice. Now she had thrown herself heart and soul 
into the Bonaparte cause. Formerly the amie intime 
of Persigny, and now of Louis Napoleon himself, love 
and politics were for the moment the double passion 
of her life. Besides her residence at Baden she also 
had a domicile at Strasbourg, which was very con- 
venient for the plans of the conspirators. 

The first person to be approached at Strasbourg 
was an aide de camp of General Voirol, commander 
of the 5th Military Division, whose adhesion would 
be of great importance to the cause. This was not 
successful, and Louis hazarded a second attempt 
which was made direct to the General himself, an old 
soldier of Austerlitz. The letter of the Prince was 
very adroitly worded, and was intended to touch 
the heart of the former companion-in-arms of the 
Emperor. He was asked to send only a word of reply 
by the bearer of the message. The "word" was brief 
and to the point: "All that I can do for the Prince," 
he replied, "is to give him a quarter of an hour to 
recross the Rhine." 

Attempts in other quarters were equally barren 
of results. But Louis Napoleon had inherited from his 
mother a very persevering will. A final appeal was 
made to Colonel Vaudrey, commanding one of the 
regiments of the Strasbourg garrison. Vaudrey was 

1:623 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

an old soldier of the Empire, and had fought at 
Waterloo. A friend of the lovely Eleonore, the Colonel 
was not so difficult to win to the cause, and he gave 
his assurance that he would not be found wanting 
when the moment for action arrived. 

Strong in his convictions, decided to raise again 
the Imperial eagles, or to fall a victim to his political 
faith, Louis Napoleon was now determined to make 
his attempt at Strasbourg. 

"He either fears his fate too much, 
Or his deserts are small, 
That dares not put it to the touch 
To gain or lose it all." 

The attempt of Louis Napoleon at Strasbourg has 
been called crazy and foolhardy, and treated with 
ridicule. Foolhardy it was, perhaps, but neither crazy 
nor ridiculous. He had in his mind the memory of 
the celebrated return of Napoleon from the Island of 
Elba. He recalled the circumstances of his departure, 
and the traverse of the sea ; the arrival at Cannes on 
the coast of France; the audacious and rapid march 
into the interior, at the head of a handful of soldiers ; 
the celebrated scene at the defile of Laffray near 
Grenoble, where, clad in the familiar gray overcoat. 
Napoleon advanced alone to meet the troops sent out 
to capture or kill him, and baring his breast, said: 
"S'il est parmi vous un soldat qui veuille tuer son 
Empereur, me voila!" ("If there is among you a 
soldier who wishes to kill his Emperor, here I am!") 

History has no record of an enterprise more fool- 
hardy, more brilliantly executed, and crowned with 
a more astounding success. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Landing on the second of March, the night of the 
twentieth he entered the Tuileries, borne in the 
arms of his soldiers, by the Hght of their torches. 
The night before, the Bourbon King, "who no longer 
had any defence except the tears of his servants, " 
had departed for Belgium. 

An amusing instance of the shifting winds of public 
opinion is to be found in the reports from day to day 
in the "Moniteur,'' the royal official organ of the 
Bourbons, of the progress of the Emperor: 

5 March — The Corsican ogre has escaped from 
Elba and landed at Cannes. 

7 March — The traitor and rebel has arrived at 
Grenoble. 

1 1 March — Bonaparte has arrived at Lyon. 

17 March — General Bonaparte is approaching 
Macon. 

19 March — Napoleon has left Autun. 

21 March — His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, 
arrived last evening at his Chateau of the Tuileries. 

In the same way, Louis Napoleon, the nephew and 
heir of the Great Emperor, dreamed of being received 
with enthusiasm by the garrison of Strasbourg, 
greeted by the commanding officers as a restorer of the 
glories of the Army, and at once by the success of his 
plans the master of one of the strongest fortresses 
of the country. From there the news of his achieve- 
ment would cross the Vosges and fly to the capital. 
Then would follow his victorious march to Paris, the 
flight of the Bourgeois King, and the restoration of the 
Empire. 

n643 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

The 25 October of the year 1836, the seventh of 
the reign of Louis PhiHppe, he left Baden in his car- 
riage, and, following a roundabout route, arrived at 
Lahr, where he spent the night of the twenty-seventh. 
Then, returning on his traces, and traversing Fri- 
bourg and Colmar, the following night he reached 
Strasbourg, to sleep at No. 7 Rue de La Fontaine, 
the home of the lovely Eleonore Brault. 

The conspirators had agreed upon their meeting- 
place under the walls of the ancient capital of Alsace. 
Their plans were all arranged. The attempt was to 
be made at daybreak the 30 October. 

In the bottom of their trunks they had concealed 
new uniforms bearing the insignia of officers of high 
rank in the army — captains and even generals. 
Louis was also provided with the plaque of the grand 
cordon de la Legion d'honneur, which the Emperor 
had given him in his cradle. 

The night of the 29 October there was a general 
meeting of the conspirators at a house in the Rue 
des Orphelins, where all were present. The decisive 
moment drew near. At the break of day the trumpet 
sounded in the Quartier d'Austerlitz, name of good 
omen ! Already there was a great tumult in the streets. 
Soldiers passed, horsemen galloped, windows opened 
and closed. Louis Napoleon is notified that the 
Colonel is ready to receive him at the barracks. The 
Prince goes at once, accompanied by four officers in 
their new uniforms. The regiment is drawn up in 
battle array outside the gates. In front of the ranks, 
sword in hand, Colonel Vaudrey begins an address, 
which the half-awakened soldiers hardly understand. 

L651 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

He states that there has been a revolution, that the 
Empire and the Emperor have returned. Their duty 
is clearly traced out before them. Let all cry: *'Vive 
Napoleon!" The soldiers look on in astonishment, 
and ask each other what it all means. 

Then Louis Napoleon steps forward and addresses 
them. He says that he is determined to conquer or to 
die for the cause of the French people ; that he wished 
to present himself first of all to the 4th Artillery, be- 
cause it was the regiment in which his uncle had 
served as Captain, and which had opened to the Em- 
peror the gates of Grenoble on his return from Elba. 
A few voices cried: "Vive TEmpereur," but there 
was no general enthusiasm. 

From this moment events followed each other so 
rapidly that it is difficult to get a clear idea of what 
happened. The party proceeded to the next barracks, 
where, after a moment of hesitation, the commanding 
officers got the situation in hand. Colonel Vaudrey 
was arrested, and at once abandoned by his own men. 
The Prince was also conducted to the guard-house, 
where several of his comrades had preceded him. 
From here they were taken to the New Prison, where 
Louis was separated from the others. His imagina- 
tion had conceived a very different ending for "La 
Grande Aventure, " as it was called in the romance of 
Georges de la Bruyere, founded upon this historical 
episode. 

In all human probability, the attempt at Strasbourg 
never could have succeeded except by a miracle, and 
then only for the time being. Napoleon had said "Du 
sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas." Louis had 

n663 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

attempted to attain the "sublime" — in his failure, 
all the world then thought that he had fallen to the 
depths of the "ridicule," from which he would never 
emerge. 

While he regretted that his plans had failed, he 
was not discouraged. At least he had shown that the 
Bonaparte family was not dead, and that the ideas 
for which they stood still lived. While his family threw 
all the blame on him, and his uncles Joseph and 
Jerome treated him as a visionary adventurer, he 
simply said: "Nous avons perdu la partie: c'est a 
recommencer." 

His mother's anxiety on receipt of the news from 
Strasbourg was intense. Disregarding the law of 
proscription which forbade her family to enter France, 
as soon as the reports reached Arenenberg Hortense 
set out for Paris. Appealing once more to the memory 
of past favors which she had shown the family, she 
was able to obtain from Louis Philippe, if not an 
entire pardon, at least a very light punishment for 
her son. The conspirators had deserved a sentence of 
death, and had expected nothing less. The King ac- 
cepted the representations of Hortense that this act 
of insurrection, this beginning of a civil war, was only 
a youthful indiscretion. 

If Louis Napoleon met with disaster at Strasbourg, 
says Jerrold, it was not because his enterprise 
was a rash one. He had been carefully watching 
public opinion in France for six years; he had been 
in constant communication with many of the leading 
men of the country. On all sides it was agreed that 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the existing government was weak; the popular 
discontent was profound and general. It is true that 
the reign of Louis Philippe lasted twelve years after 
the first attempt of Louis Napoleon, but these years 
were full of trouble. Success alone justifies such an 
enterprise, and it was generally condemned simply 
because it failed. It was the general impression at 
the time that had the garrison at Strasbourg been 
won over by the Prince, all the troops in the towns 
on the way to Paris would have joined him, and that 
his march would have been as triumphal as that of 
his uncle from Cannes. 

The Prince remained a prisoner at Strasbourg 
until the ninth of November ; then in charge of two 
officers he was brought to Paris, where he arrived 
early on the morning of the eleventh and was con- 
fined at the Prefecture of Police. Louis Philippe, in 
answer to the prayers of Hortense, had already de- 
cided to exile him from France, without the formality 
of a trial. Therefore, after a detention of only a few 
hours in Paris, he was hurried to the Fortress of Port 
Louis near Lorient. Here he remained until the 21 
November, when he sailed for America on the frigate 
*'Andromede,'* which had orders to make the voyage 
to the United States by way of Brazil. 

At Lorient, just before embarking in the frigate 
which was to take him to America, there was placed 
in his hands, by order of the King, a purse containing 
16,000 francs in gold, a gift of the monarch whom he 
had attempted to dethrone, who knew that his re- 
sources had been for the moment exhausted by the 
expenses of his conspiracy. 

1:683 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

Orders had been given for the "Andromede'* to 
go to New York by the way of Rio Janeiro, Louis 
PhiHppe having conceived the ingenious idea ot giving 
his prisoner a sea voyage of four months in order to 
cool the fever of conspiracy. Treated as a prisoner of 
war during the voyage, he only recovered his liberty 
upon the soil of America. 

Prince Louis arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on the 
"Andromede" the 30 March 1837, after a voyage of 
over four months. In a letter to his mother from New 
York under date of the 17 April he describes his 
journey from Norfolk to New York: 

"The second of April the captain and officers con- 
ducted me to the steamboat that conveyed me up 
Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore. We left at four o'clock 
in the afternoon. There were two hundred passengers 
on board. The cabin, a narrow room, about 160 feet 
in length, extends the entire length of the boat. Supper 
was served at seven. Half an hour later, the tables 
were taken away and beds were made for everybody. 
The women have cabins apart. About four in the 
morning, being very hot, I got up and went on deck 
to get some fresh air. We arrived at Baltimore at six 
o'clock in the morning, and started again immedi- 
ately upon another boat. At the end of the bay we 
found a railway that conveyed us to the Delaware 
River, where we again took boat to Philadelphia. 
From Philadelphia to New York, we travelled in the 
same way, partly by railway and partly by boat. 
I passed before Point Breeze, the residence of my 
uncle (King Joseph, at Bordentown, New Jersey). 
It is a pretty little house on the banks of the Dela- 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

ware, but the surrounding country is flat. The only- 
fine features are the width of the stream, and the 
steamboats which are magnificent.'* 

In New York Prince Louis stopped at Washington 
Hall, a hotel built in 1810, which occupied about half 
the block on the east side of Broadway between 
Chambers and Reade Streets. The building was then 
one of the finest in the city. There were no club 
houses in New York at that early day, and the cele- 
brated " Bread and Cheese Club " founded by James 
Fenimore Cooper in 1824 met there. One of the 
houses on the same block contained two stores about 
twelve feet wide, one of which was occupied by A. T. 
Stewart. In 1844, Stewart bought Washington Hall, 
and on the site, which was finally extended so as to 
include the entire block front, he erected a fine 
marble building for his store. When he moved up 
to Tenth Street in 1862, the store was turned into 
an office building. It is now owned by Frank A. 
Munsey and occupied by "The Sun and New York 
Herald." 

The night of the Prince's arrival in New York, 
General James Watson Webb, the editor of the 
** Courier and Enquirer," which in 1861 was merged 
in the "World," was entertaining at dinner a dis- 
tinguished party of friends, including General Winfield 
Scott, at the other leading hotel, the City Hotel, 
which was located on the west side of Broadway, 
just north of Trinity Church. Hearing of the presence 
of Louis Napoleon in the city. General Webb sent 
him an invitation to join the party, which he did. 
Nearly thirty years later, at Paris, General Webb 

1:703 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

negotiated with the Emperor Napoleon the Third 
a secret treaty providing for the removal of the 
French troops from Mexico. 

General Webb has described Louis Napoleon as a 
gentleman who was very quiet and reserved, who 
seemed to prefer the society of old men and ladies. 
He met only a few of the principal families of the 
city at that time, such as the Stewarts, the Clintons 
and the Livingstons. He also made the acquaintance 
of Chancellor Kent, and of Washington Irving, 
whom he visited at the "Roost." In New York, 
he also saw Pierre, the son of Lucien Bonaparte, 
and Achille and Lucien Murat, sons of Caroline 
Bonaparte and the King of Naples, who were also 
his cousins. 

On arriving In New York, the Prince had found 
awaiting him his faithful friend Count Arese and his 
old servant Charles Thelin. During the short period 
of two months which he passed in America, Louis 
spent his time In travelling, and In visiting the many 
new friends he made. His associations were almost 
exclusively confined to the oldest and best families. 
He also mixed occasionally in a small but refined 
French circle. Politics and government were a fa- 
vorite topic of his conversation with the public men 
he met. It had been his intention to spend a year 
in making the tour of the United States, that he 
might have a better knowledge of our institutions 
and observe for himself the practical workings of our 
political system. But his plans were suddenly changed 
by the news of the serious Illness of his mother, which 
cut short his stay. He had only time to visit Niagara 

n 71 2 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Falls, and to go over his Uncle Joseph's property on 
the Delaware. Joseph had returned to Europe five 
years before, and was then residing in London. The 
house, which is still known as the "Bonaparte Man- 
sion," and the fine park of 200 acres surrounding it, 
were sold by King Joseph in 1849. 

In these ways the time had passed rapidly on from 
April to June, when Louis received from his mother 
a letter dated the third of April, which had been 
delayed in transmission. On the outside, in the well- 
known hand of Doctor Conneau, were the words: 
"Venez! venez!" To the day of his death the Em- 
peror carried a well-worn leather pocketbook, from 
which he never parted. It contained this last letter 
from his mother, stained and blurred from the salt- 
water of Boulogne, some letters of the Empress, and 
child-scrawls of his son, and a strange collection of 
pictures of Saints. 

Without the knowledge of her son, Queen Hor- 
tense had been suffering for some time with a malady 
which was to cause her death the following year. 
When she visited France the last time for the purpose 
of securing his release, after the "Great Adventure," 
the few old friends who saw her were alarmed at the 
change in her appearance. The physicians whom she 
consulted declared that an operation was impossible 
and that there was no hope for her recovery. The first 
letter she received from Louis was dated the 14 
January 1837 at Rio Janeiro. 

The third of April, when Hortense expected to 
have an operation, she wrote Louis the following 
touching letter : 

n723 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

"Mon cher fils, on doit me faire une operation ab- 
solument necessaire. Si elle ne reussit pas, je t'envoie 
par cette lettre ma benediction. Nous nous retrou- 
verons, n'est-ce pas? dans un meilleur monde, oii 
tu ne viendras me rejoindre que le plus tard 
possible, et tu penseras qu'en quittant celui-ci, 
je ne regrette que toi, que ta bonne tendresse, qui 
seule m'y a fait trouver quelque charme. Cela sera 
une consolation pour toi, mon cher ami, de penser 
que par tes soins tu as rendu ta mere heureuse autant 
qu'elle pouvait I'etre. Tu penseras a toute ma ten- 
dresse pour toi, et tu auras du courage. Pense qu'on 
a toujours un ceil bienveillant et clairvoyant sur 
ceux qu'on laisse ici-bas; mais, bien sur, on se 
retrouve. Crois a cette douce idee! Elle est trop 
necessaire pour qu'elle ne soit pas vraie. Ce bon 
Arese, je lui donne aussi ma benediction comme a 
un fils. Je suis bien calme, bien resignee, et j'espere 
encore que nous nous reverrons dans ce monde-ci. 
Que la volonte de Dieu soit faite! Ta tendre mere, 

HORTENSE." 

("I am about to undergo an operation that is 
absolutely necessary. In case it should not succeed, 
I send you my blessing. We shall meet again, shall 
we not.f* in a better world, where you will come to 
join me only as late as possible. And you will remem- 
ber that in leaving this world I regret only you — 
only your gentle affection, that has given some charm 
to my life. It will be a consolation to you, my dear 
child, to know it was your care for her which made 
your mother as happy as it was possible for her to be. 
You will think of all my love for you, and take cour- 

1:733 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

age. Believe that we always keep a kindly and search- 
ing eye on all we leave here below, and that certainly 
we meet again. Have faith in this consoling idea; 
it is too necessary not to be true. I give my blessing 
also to good Arese as to a son. I press you to my 
heart, my dear one. I am quite calm and resigned, 
and hope we may meet again in this world. Let the 
will of God be done. 

Your tender Mother, Hortense ") 

On receipt of this letter Louis decided to return 
immediately to Europe in the hope of seeing his 
mother before the end. He engaged passage upon the 
"George Washington," the first vessel leaving New 
York, and sailed the 12 June. A month later he ad- 
vised his mother of his arrival at London, on the 10 
July, and stated his intention of continuing his 
journey as soon as possible. Finding it impossible to 
obtain passports through France, he crossed to Hol- 
land, and reached Switzerland by way of the Rhine, 
arriving at Arenenberg the fifth of August. He found 
his mother very low, but she lived exactly two months, 
expiring on the fifth of October 1837 at the age of 
fifty-four. 

In accordance with her desire, her remains were 
transported to France three months later, and the 
8 January 1838 were placed in a vault of the church 
at Rueil where her mother was buried. The only 
member of either family who was present at the in- 
terment was Caroline, the widow of Murat, former 
King of Naples. Caroline, who died the 18 May the 

l74l 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

following year, was the ablest and most ambitious 
of the sisters of the Emperor. About a year older than 
Hortense, with whom she was a fellow pupil at the 
celebrated school of Madame Campan, she was 
always jealous of Hortense and displayed her enmity 
on numerous occasions. 

It was fortunate perhaps for Hortense on her death- 
bed that she could not see into the future. She could 
not foresee the future glory of her son, neither could 
she know of his misfortunes. She did not know that 
the Empire would be restored, nor did she know that 
France was to see a day more disastrous even than 
Waterloo. 

Faithful to the memory of his mother, during the 
Second Empire, Napoleon the Third rebuilt the 
church at Rueil, in which he had already erected a 
beautiful monument in memory of Hortense, on the 
opposite side of the altar from the tomb which Hor- 
tense and Eugene had built for their mother, the 
Empress Josephine. 

Among the grand avenues which spread out from 
the Arc de Triomphe at Paris, one was formerly called 
Josephine, another the Avenue de la Reine-Hortense. 
In the middle of the first was a statue of the Empress. 
A new boulevard received the name of Prince Eugene, 
and had a statue of the former Vice-roi of Italy. He 
was represented standing, head bare, in the uniform 
of a general, a mantle thrown over his shoulders, 
his left hand resting on the hilt of his sabre, holding 
in his right hand a letter which he appeared to be 
crumpling — the letter in which he was offered the 
crown of Italy on condition of abandoning the cause 

n7s3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

of the Emperor. One side of the monument was 
covered by the text of the noble reply which 
Eugene wrote to the Emperor Alexander the 20 April 
1814: 

"Ni la perspective du duche de Genes, ni celle 
du royaume d'ltalie, ne me porteraient a la trahison. 
J'aime mieux redevenir soldat que d'etre souverain 
avili. L'Empereur, dites-vous, a eu des torts envers 
moi. Je les ai oublies; je ne me souviens que de ses 
bienfaits. Je lui dois tout, mon rang, mes titres, ma 
fortune, et, ce que je prefere a tout cela, je lui dois ce 
que votre indulgence veut bien appeler ma gloire. 
Je le servirai tant qu'il vivra; ma personne est a lui, 
comme mon coeur. Puisse mon epee se briser entre 
mes mains, si elle etait jamais infidele a I'Empereur 
et a la France!'* 

Now all of these memorials have disappeared. The 
Avenue de la Reine-Hortense is the Avenue Hoche, 
and the Avenue Josephine is named Marceau. The 
statue of Josephine occupies a corner of the Museum 
of Versailles. The statue of Eugene has disappeared, 
and the boulevard which bore his name is now called 
Voltaire. 

In his discourse when received as a member of the 
French Academy, Victor Cherbuliez said : 

" It has been written that if we sometimes astonish 
the world by the excess of our self-confidence, we 
astonish it still more by our ingratitude towards our 
past." 

Why should patriotism be iconoclastic ? Why should 
France not take equal pride in the glories of the Em- 
pire and of the Republic? Why not hold in equal 

1:76a 



THE GREAT ADVENTURE 

respect, at Versailles, the statue of the " Roi Soleil " 
and of General Hoche, at Paris, the Column of July 
in the Place de la Bastille and the Column of Na- 
poleon in the Place Vendome? High above all the 
Governments which come and go, there is France 
which is eternal! 

"Malheureux de ses maux et fier de ses victoires, 
Je depose a ses pieds ma joie ou mes douleurs: 
J'ai des chants pour toutes ses glolres, 
Des larmes pour tous ses malheurs." 



I 771 



CHAPTER SIX 

1837-1840 

THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

Last Days at Arenenberg — Maxims and Will of Hortense — 
Departure from Switzerland — Residence in London — 
Preparations for Boulogne — The Napoleonic Propaganda 
— Departure of the Expedition — Landing in France — 
The Second Fiasco — Arrest of the Conspirators — Trial 
by the Chamber of Peers — Sentenced to Perpetual Im- 
prisonment — The Remains of Napoleon Brought Home 
from Saint Helena 

AFTER the death of his mother, in October 
1837, Louis Napoleon passed several months 
very quietly at Arenenberg. He saw no one 
except a few old friends who paid him passing visits. 
He wrote his father that his only occupation was 
trying to put his mother's affairs In order. She had 
left many charges and obligations on her estate, and 
an old chateau only partially restored, which re- 
quired considerable additional outlay to finish It. 
His door was not closed to a few faithful adherents 
who still clung to his cause. Among these were Colonel 
Vaudrey and Perslgny, who had both been involved 
in the affair of Strasbourg. None of them had been 
discouraged by that failure, and all looked forward 
to a more opportune occasion. 

When he wished to be alone, Louis retired to the 
separate pavilion where his mother had furnished 

1:783 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

an apartment for him, every detail of which recalled 
her thoughtful and loving care. Here he read and 
reread her maxims, which constituted a kind of polit- 
ical testament: 

Your title is of recent date ; to make it respected, 
you must prove yourself capable of being useful. 

The role of the Bonapartes is to pose as friends of 
everybody; they are the mediators, the concilliators. 

Welcome everybody, repulse nobody, even the 
curious, the man with an object to gain, the man who 
offers advice. They all help. 

Never be tired of claiming that the Emperor was 
infallible, and that he had a valid national motive 
for all his acts. 

Do not fail to assert at all times that he rendered 
France powerful and prosperous, and that each one 
of his conquests brought to Europe institutions which 
will never be regretted. 

People end by believing that which is repeated 
often enough: one always obtains that which is de- 
manded continuously and in every form. 

In discussions in France, he always gets the best of 
the argument who cites history; nobody studies it 
and everybody believes it. 

Watch the horizon. There is neither comedy nor 
drama, which, unrolling before your eyes, may not 
furnish some motive for interfering, like a deus ex 
machina. 

1:793 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The will of Hortense, dated 3 April 1837, the same 
day that she wrote her last letter to Louis at New 
York, ends as follows: 

"It is my wish that my husband give a thought 
to my memory, and that he know that my greatest 
regret has been that I could not make him happy. 

*'I have no political counsels to give to my son. I 
know that he understands his position and all the 
duties which his name imposes upon him. 

"I pardon all the sovereigns, with whom I have 
had relations of friendship, the lightness of their 
judgment upon me. 

"I pardon some Frenchmen, to whom I was able 
to be of service, the calumny which they have had 
heaped upon me in order to clear themselves; I 
pardon those who have believed without inquiry, 
and I hope not to be entirely forgotten by my dear 
fellow-countrymen. 

"I thank all the members of my household, in- 
cluding my servants, for their good care of me, and 
I hope that they will not forget my memory." 

Queen Hortense left seven or eight compact volumes 
of "Memoirs,'* in the writing of which she was prob- 
ably assisted by Monsieur Mocquard, afterwards 
Private Secretary of the Emperor. They were in- 
tended for the reading of her own family, and never, 
in their entirety, for publication. They are full of 
indiscretions, and hasty verdicts on her contempora- 
ries. Many of the intimate descriptions of Napoleon 
are admirable, and show the finer side of his character. 
Although she depicts her husband as a gloomy tyrant, 
she at the same time always shows respect for him. 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

She acknowledges that she had not been a good wife 
to him, and makes no attempt to deny her frailties. 
She endeavors, and not without some measure of 
success, to bewitch the reader, rather than to appeal to 
his judgment. The Memoirs are typical of her life in 
which the good overbears and almost hides the bad. 

There was no indication of any intention on Louis's 
part of leaving his quiet retreat where he was 
living amid the tender memories of the past, when 
it became known that he had suddenly left Switzer- 
land to go and take up his residence in London. A 
number of serious incidents had hastened his depar- 
ture. The French Government had reminded him that 
it had only tolerated his presence in Switzerland in 
order that he might be with his mother during her 
last days, and that he was now taking advantage of 
an excuse which had ceased to be valid. From dip- 
lomatic notes to the Helvetian Government, recourse 
was had to direct menaces, and an army of 20,000 
men was massed upon the Swiss frontier. 

The last day of January 1838, Prince Louis had 
taken up his residence in the old Gothic Chateau of 
Gottlieben, which his mother had left him, and 
which he had completely restored. It was situated 
on the arm of the Rhine which connects the Unter 
See with the Lake of Constance. It had been the 
prison of John Huss, Jerome of Prague and Pope 
John. The following day the Due de Montebello, the 
son of Marshal Lannes, appeared at Lucerne to de- 
mand of the Swiss Government that the nephew and 
heir of the Emperor should be expelled from the 
country. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

With a strong sentiment of hospitality, mingled 
with national pride, the Swiss refused to yield to this 
movement directed against an honorary citizen of 
the Republic. But Louis preferred to save his gener- 
ous hosts from any trouble on his account, and 
voluntarily left the country. After selling his horses 
and carriages by auction at Arenenberg, on Sunday 
14 October, Prince Louis set out for England. He 
descended the Rhine to Rotterdam, where he em- 
barked for England the 23 October 1838. This was 
only another instance of the short-sighted policy of 
Louis Philippe and his ministers. For his plans, 
London was a much more convenient place of resi- 
dence than his mother's chateau in a distant and 
obscure canton of Switzerland. 

For the second time the great asylum of England 
opened its doors to him. On his arrival at London, he 
was accompanied by a suite of seven persons, in- 
cluding Persigny, and Colonel Vaudrey, of Strasbourg 
memory. After a short stay at Fenton's Hotel, he 
leased until December 1839 the house of Lord Cardi- 
gan, in Carlton Terrace, between Saint James's and 
Regent Streets in one of the best parts of the West 
End. At the expiration of this term he removed to the 
house of Lord Ripon in Carlton Gardens. There were 
seventeen persons employed in his househod and he 
had five horses in his stable, including two saddle 
horses. 

Many reasons had led Prince Louis to fix on London 
as his place of residence. He had many warm friends 
there, who had been kind to him at the time of his 
first visit after the Italian insurrection, and again on 

1:823 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

his return from America. In England he would have 
absolute freedom of action, to go and come as he 
pleased. He would be near his uncle Joseph, and in 
the midst of a number of his countrymen. He was 
nearer Paris than at Arenenberg, and in a place 
better situated for his plans. He had passed from a 
small chateau in a distant and obscure corner of 
Switzerland to one of the great capitals of Europe, 
where he was an object of interest from his historic 
name, and where he was constantly in the public eye. 
The folly of the French Government had transformed 
the ridiculous conspirator of Strasbourg into an in- 
teresting and powerful pretender. His movements 
were chronicled day by day in the fashionable news- 
papers. When he rode or drove out a crowd surrounded 
his hotel. In his round of sight-seeing he was received 
with royal honors; at the Bank of England, the 
Governor escorted him, and the directors gave him 
a breakfast. He was elected honorary member of the 
most fashionable clubs. He become in short the lion 
of the season. 

Taking umbrage at this reception of Prince Louis, 
the French Government now gave him additional 
importance by another diplomatic blunder. They 
requested the English Government to compel Prince 
Louis Napoleon to reside away from London, in a 
fixed abode. Lord Melbourne of course replied that 
there was no law under which the right of asylum 
could be restricted. Nothing remained for the French 
Government but the use of spies, and a close watch 
was kept upon all the Prince's movements. 

He had brought from the Chateau of Arenenberg 

1:83: 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

a number of articles with which to embellish his 
private rooms. Among these were a painting of Jose- 
phine and Hortense; some medallions of the family; 
and some historical souvenirs, such as the tricolored 
scarf worn by General Bonaparte at the Battle of 
the Pyramids, his coronation ring, the orders, plaques 
and cross worn by the Emperor, and the so-called 
*' Talisman of Charleraagne, " taken from the famous 
tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle. 

The history of the "Talisman" is very interest- 
ing. When Napoleon visited Aix-la-Chapelle in 1804, 
the tomb of Charlemagne was opened and there was 
found hung around his neck the Talisman which had 
brought him success. It was a piece of the real cross, 
encased in an emerald, which was hung to a thick 
gold ring by a slender chain. It was presented to the 
Emperor by the city authorities, and, at Austerlitz 
and Wagram, he wore it on his breast, as Charle- 
magne used to do nine centuries before. In 1813 he 
gave it to. Hortense. This relic was in the chamber 
of Napoleon the Third when he died, and was 
later in the bed-room of the Prince Imperial at 
Chislehurst. A short time before her death in 1920, 
the Empress Eugenie presented the Talisman to the 
tresor of the great Cathedral of Reims, which was so 
seriously imperilled by the German bombardment 
during the Great War. 

The Prince was no sooner settled in Carlton House 
than invitations began to pour in upon him from the 
few members of the leading English families who were 
in town during this dull part of the London season. 

1:843 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

Brilliant receptions were given in his honor by Lord 
Holland, the Duchess of Bedford, and Lord Grey. 
The Duchess of Somerset gave a grand dinner to 
Prince Louis Napoleon. The great Duke of Welling- 
ton showed him marked attention. "Would you be- 
lieve it," he wrote at this time, "this young man 
Louis Napoleon will not have it said that he is not 
going to be Emperor of the French!" 

At London he frequented particularly the salon 
of Lady Blessington at Gore House. Here he met the 
most brilliant society of the day. He had first met 
her at Rome in March 1828 during one of his visits 
there with his mother. 

At Brodick Castle in Scotland, he passed several 
days with the son of the Duke of Hamilton, who had 
married his cousin Marie, daughter of the Grand 
Duchess Stephanie of Baden. We shall meet her later 
at the Tuileries during the Second Empire. The Duke 
of Newcastle, who met him in Scotland, wrote Sir 
Archibald Alison, the celebrated author of "The 
History of Europe" as follows: 

"Prince Louis Napoleon and I often went out to 
shoot together, but neither of us being very keen for 
the sport, we preferred to sit down in the heather 
and discuss serious subjects. He always opened the 
conversation by speaking of what he hoped to do 
when he wore the crown, and I am convinced that 
this thought never left him for a single moment." 

He could only confide his plans to a very small num- 
ber of persons, for fear of not being understood, or 
of being considered visionary. He was so reticent in 
general society that he was generally known as 

CSS a 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

"Prince Taciturn." He was more expansive than 
elsewhere in the salon of Lady Blessington, who was 
in full sympathy with his romantic ideas. 

During the London seasons of 1839 and 1840 
Prince Louis ostensibly led the life of a man of fashion. 
But behind the scenes he thought and worked and 
schemed, in daily preparation for the future which 
he was sure lay before him. 

The author of "Les Idees Napoleoniennes/' which 
he published in 1839, was assuredly a thoughtful, 
serious, and earnest-minded person. "'Les Idees,'" 
wrote Mr. Jerrold, "are the brightest and fullest 
expression of the mind of Prince Louis Napoleon. His 
political life is this work in action. It is the text-book 
of his policy, the code of his personal laws . . . the 
Napoleonic idea amplified and carried forward for 
the government of society by a second Napoleon. 

"The 'Idees Napoleoniennes' appeared when the 
ground for them had been prepared by Louis 
Philippe's Government. Prince Louis chose his time 
well. The minds of the French people were filled with 
the glory of Napoleon ; and the Government of July, 
havingno prestige of its own, fed the popular appetite. 
The Arch of Triumph under which the King passed 
daily to Neuilly was a sculptured record of Imperial 
glory. The Vendome Column held the Little Corporal 
aloft, to be seen by all Paris; and his old grenadiers 
came again and again to deposit immortelles at his 
feet." 

A copy of the first edition was presented by the 
Prince to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, who wrote 
under the inscription on the title page: "The book 

Z862 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

of a very able mind . . . Prince Louis Napoleon has 
qualities that may render him a remarkable man if 
he ever returns to France. ... He can conceive with 
secrecy and act with promptitude. His faults would 
come from conceit and rashness ; but akin with these 
characteristics are will and enthusiasm. He has these 
in a high degree. Above all, he has that intense faith 
in his own destiny, with which men rarely fail of 
achieving something great, without which all talent 
lacks the mens divinior." 

This estimate of Louis Napoleon was remarkable in 
its prophetic vision. 

' With only a small band of supporters, with very 
little ready money, without personal authority, the 
Prince was still set on his idea of overthrowing 
the existing Government of France, and restoring the 
Imperial regime. He explained his plans to Joseph 
Orsi, a merchant of Florence and the banker of the 
Bonaparte family, who was then in London. Orsi 
finally agreed to take charge of the details of the 
enterprise. At first he had been in favor of putting 
off the attempt until a more opportune moment, 
but he was over-persuaded by the confidence of the 
Prince, who believed that the time had come. 

Since 1838, the Napoleonic propaganda had made 
enormous progress. It was carried on zealously in 
many newspapers and clubs. The diplomatic humili- 
ation of France in the affair of Mehemet Ali, with the 
outburst of patriotism which accompanied it, and the 
concessions of the Government to public opinion 
which followed, such for instance as the bringing 
back of the ashes of Napoleon from Saint Helena, 

[873 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

all helped to revive Revolutionary and Imperial 
memories. 

For two years Louis Napoleon had been almost 
continually in the public eye. With the funds realized 
from the sale of a part of his property at Arenenberg, 
he had subsidized a journal called the "Capitole." 
The political Review which he published monthly 
continued to harass the Government of Louis 
Philippe. His plans for a new attempt were not un- 
known at the Tuileries, and preparations had been 
made and orders given, in anticipation of an insur- 
rection. Police agents had been sent to London to 
report upon the movements of the Prince and his 
partisans. The coming expedition, the date of its 
departure, and the place of landing in France, were 
all matters of common gossip in London. The secrecy 
so necessary to the success of such an undertaking 
was decidedly lacking. How did it happen that the 
project was so well known? 

The 21 June Prince Louis called on Orsi and in- 
sisted that no more time should be lost in beginning 
the preparations for the departure of the expedition. 
Orsi, in the face of this determination, raised no fur- 
ther objections. He suggested that a steamer should 
be chartered for the ostensible purpose of a pleasure 
cruise. This was easily arranged, and the first step 
of the perilous adventure had been taken. The fourth 
of August the expedition was ready to sail. Horses, 
guns and military equipment of every kind were on 
board the "Edinburgh Castle," which had been 
chartered for the month of August. Louis Napoleon 
was the last to arrive, having been delayed by the 

IS82 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

active surveillance of the French police agents in 
London. It was found necessary on account of this 
delay to postpone the landing in France until the 
sixth of August. 

The petty port of Wimereux, about two and a 
half miles north of Boulogne, had been selected as 
the point of landing. Boulogne had been chosen for 
the attempt because it was easy of access, and the 
garrison was weak, and also supposed to be friendly. 
Including the Prince, the expeditionary force con- 
sisted of fifty-six persons, more than half of whom 
were servants. 

In the first hour of the morning of the sixth of 
August 1840, the coast guards on duty near the old 
sand-choked port of Wimereux, constructed by 
Napoleon at the time of his projected invasion of 
England, made out through the darkness a small 
steamer standing off and on about a mile from the 
shore. About an hour later a small boat was lowered 
and filled with men. It approached the shore and 
grounded about thirty yards from the beach. The 
boat was hailed by the guards, and the answer was 
received that it was a party of the 40th of the Line 
on their way from Dunkerque to Cherbourg. The 
men, all in uniform, waded ashore, and the boat 
went back for another load. In three trips all the 
party were landed from the steamer. 

The expedition, after making prisoners of the 
coast guards, immediately set out for Boulogne along 
the heights past the Napoleon column. They marched 
on without interruption until they reached the guard- 
house on the Place d' Alton. From this point on the 

n893 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

narrative is very confused, and it is not now easy to 
say exactly what happened. The soldiers seem to 
have refused to join them, and the party went on 
until they reached the barracks in the lower town. 
It was five o'clock in the morning when they arrived 
here. Again the soldiers, under orders of their officers, 
refused to join them, and the expedition went on its 
way to the upper town. Arrived at the ramparts, they 
found the gates already closed against them. Appar- 
ently discouraged by the coolness of their reception, 
the march now turned back towards the column on 
the heights. Here Louis Napoleon, who was in a state 
of great nervous excitement, refused to retreat fur- 
ther, and was carried by main force to the boat. An 
attempt was made to regain the steamer. At a short 
distance from the shore, they were fired upon and 
one man was killed and one wounded, and in the con- 
fusion the boat was upset. The Prince and the rest of 
the party then swam towards the steamer, which they 
succeeded in reaching, only to find it in possession 
of the authorities. The prisoners were landed at the 
Pidou jetty, and by nine o'clock the Prince and his 
companions were locked up in the prison of the 
Vieux-Chateau. A more complete fiasco could not 
be imagined. It was far worse than the affair of Stras- 
bourg. There for a short time there appeared to be 
every chance of success. At Boulogne, if the soldiers 
seemed friendly, the officers were hostile, and military 
discipline prevailed. 

Speculation now upon the hopes and promises of 
the Boulogne expedition would be futile. The Prince 
kept his own counsel, and his first care was to shield 

ego] 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

all who had put themselves in peril. It is evidence 
of the strict sense of honor which prevailed among 
his friends that the Government was never able to 
obtain the least clue to the ramifications of the plot 
of which the affair of Boulogne was the ridiculous 
outcome. 

Louis Philippe and his ministers claimed to have 
been much amused over this "ludicrous affair." But, 
as the French say: "Rira bien qui rira le dernier." 
The laugh was on the other side eight years later 
when the Bourgeois King crossed the Channel to 
England as " Mr. Smith," while Louis Napoleon went 
to Paris, to the Assembly, the Presidency and the 
Empire. 

From Boulogne, the Prince was conducted first 
to the Chateau of Ham, and then transferred to 
Paris where he was confined at the Prefecture of 
Police. With his principal accomplices, he was ar- 
raigned before the Chamber of Peers, sitting as a 
High Court of Justice. The trial began the 28 Sep- 
tember, and on the sixth of October all were found 
guilty. Louis Napoleon was condemned to perpetual 
imprisonment in a fortress of France, and the others 
received sentences of from two to twenty years. 

To defray the expenses of the Boulogne expedition, 
before leaving London the Prince had disposed of 
nearly all his remaining securities. The eve of the de- 
parture, Orsi had placed in his hands the sum of 
twenty thousand pounds, in gold and bank notes. 
Part of his funds were lost in the sea during the at- 
tempt to escape, but the authorities took from Louis 
at the time of his arrest the sum of 160,000 francs, 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

all of which was subsequently returned to him by the 
Government. 

Before leaving Paris the 6 October for the prison 
of Ham, the Prince arranged his affairs so that all 
the persons to whom his mother had left annuities 
as charges on her estate should receive the capital 
sum in place of the income. All of his remaining 
property was sold, and every claim satisfied. He en- 
tered Ham as "poor as Job." Accompanied by the 
venerable General Montholon he was put in a carriage 
the evening of the sixth and under charge of a colonel 
of the municipal guard was escorted to Ham where 
he arrived at midnight on the seventh. By a curious 
coincidence, it was the same day that the "Belle 
Poule," the vessel sent to bring back the remains of 
the Great Emperor, arrived in sight of the island of 
Saint Helena. 

While the body of Napoleon lay in the lonely grave 
at Saint Helena his spirit had conquered Europe 
anew. The peoples who had overthrown his Empire 
soon found that they had exchanged a brilliant for a 
stupid despotism. The more they saw of the little 
hereditary tyrants who had supplanted him, the 
more they regretted the great despot. The pledges 
of liberty which they had received were ruthlessly 
broken. The " Holy Alliance " really became a league 
against popular rights and liberty throughout the 
continent. 

In his will Napoleon had said: "Je desire que mes 
cendres reposent sur les bords de la Seine au milieu 
de ce peuple Fran^als que j'ai tant aime." That the 
body of the Emperor should be rescued from alien 

n923 



THE AFFAIR OF BOULOGNE 

soil and rest by the Seine became the great desire of 
the French nation. As a concession to popular opinion 
the Government of Louis PhiHppe decided to bring 
back the ashes of Napoleon in accordance with his 
desire. England having given her consent, the King 
sent his son the Prince de Joinville to escort the 
Emperor home. In his party were two of Napoleon's 
faithful companions in exile. General Bertrand and 
General Gourgaud; Marchand, his valet, and several 
of the old servants at Longwood. With them also 
was the son of Las Cases, who was now in manhood 
to revisit the sombre scenes of his childhood days. 
Still another was the son of Bertrand, who had been 
born at Saint Helena. 

They found that Longwood had reverted to its 
former use as a stable, but the grave of Napoleon was 
still carefully guarded by a British soldier. When the 
coffin was opened, those who had thought to find 
"Imperious Caesar, deadand turned to clay," were as- 
tonished to see the Emperor so life-like, lying as if in 
slumber, his body clothed in the familiar green uni- 
form of the Chasseurs de la Garde, with the cross of 
the Legion d'honneur gleaming upon his breast with 
undiminished lustre. 

The 15 December 1840, when his nephew and heir 
was just beginning his term of life-imprisonment at 
Ham, Paris opened wide its gates to receive the re- 
mains of the Great Emperor, as if he were a victorious 
general returning from a glorious campaign. Mounted 
upon a stately funeral car, escorted by aged veterans 
of the Vieille Garde, followed by the white steed, 
"Marengo," which he had ridden at Waterloo, the 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

body was borne in triumph to its last resting place 
under the gilded dome of the Invalides. The King 
and the whole royal family awaited the arrival of the 
heroic dead. Amidst the general hush of expectation, 
a chamberlain entered, and dramatically announced: 
"L'Empereur!" 

The Prince de Joinville delivered the coffin to the 
King, who received it "in the name of France." At 
last the ashes of the Great Emperor reposed upon the 
banks of the Seine in the midst of the French people 
whom he had loved so well. 



1:943 



CHAPTER SEVEN 

1840-1846 

PRISONER OF STATE 

The Chateau of Ham — Life in Prison — Literary Pastimes — 
A Prison Romance — The Crazy Duke of Brunswick — 
The Escape from Ham — Second Residence in London — 
The Affair with Miss Howard — The Princesse Marie de 
Bade — Death of King Louis 

HAM, where Louis Napoleon was sentenced 
to perpetual imprisonment, is a little town 
of about three thousand inhabitants, in the 
Department of the Somme, seventy miles north of 
Paris. It is on the short route from London to Swit- 
zerland followed by the trains which run direct from 
Calais to Bale by way of Amiens and Reims without 
passing by Paris. 

The Chateau after having successfully resisted 
the assaults of the English, the Spaniards and the 
Austrians, was totally destroyed by the Germans 
during the Great War. 

The fortress was constructed by the Comte de 
Saint- Pol, Constable of France, in the 15th century, 
during the reign of Louis the Eleventh. The approach 
from the town was through an avenue shaded by arch- 
ing trees. From a distance the Chateau had quite a 
picturesque aspect, with the red and gray towers, 
and the battlements, which gave an impression of 
age and strength. The central feature of the fortress 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

was the great tower, a hundred feet high, with walls 
thirty feet thick. 

After traversing the second drawbridge and enter- 
ing the central courtyard, the visitor saw on the right 
a range of low two-storied buildings. There Prince 
Louis Napoleon was confined. The same suite had 
previously been occupied, after the Revolution of 
July 1830, by the Prince de Polignac, the Prime 
Minister of Charles the Tenth, and later, in 185 1, 
was to be the home of Cavaignac and other oppo- 
nents of the Prince-President. It was a gloomy and 
malarious place, surrounded by damp walls with 
mounds without and the river circling around. Ham 
is suitated in the midst of a low, marshy country, and 
the sun is frequently obscured by the mists, and low- 
hanging clouds. 

The entrance to the Prince's apartment was through 
a narrow door into a white-washed corridor. On the 
right on entering was the suite of General Mon- 
tholon, consisting of a sitting-room with bed-room 
beyond. Opposite were the bath-room and chapel. 
At the end of the corridor was the guard-room. 
Mounting a short flight of stairs, the visitor reached 
the second story corridor, where the rooms of the 
Prince were located. His apartment consisted of two 
square, white-washed rooms, with brick floors, the 
sitting-room on the left, overlooking the courtyard, 
and the bed-room opposite. The furniture was of 
plain black-walnut. Opening from this same corridor 
were the rooms of Doctor Conneau, of Charles Thelin, 
the Prince's valet, and the dining-room. 

The only exit from the building was through the 

1:963 




< 

X 

c 

p 

< 

o 



PRISONER OF STATE 

guard-room on the first floor, by a door into the court- 
yard, which was always kept locked. When the pris- 
oners took their daily exercise on the ramparts they 
had to pass through this guard-room and traverse 
a narrow walk, at the end of which was another barrier 
and a second guard-room. Sentinels were posted on 
the ramparts, and on the opposite bank of the river 
below, to prevent communication with the prisoners. 
The broad walk on the ramparts was only about 
fifty paces in length. Four hundred soldiers within, 
and a vigilant police force without, carefully guarded 
the fortress. Escape seemed impossible. 

Along the inner slope of the mound, the Prince 
laid out his little garden. After a time he was allowed 
to take exercise on horseback around' the limited 
space of the inner courtyard. 

The studious habits of Louis, which he had formed 
in early childhood, and which he never abandoned 
even in the Palace of the Tuileries, now stood him in 
good stead. He was fortunate enough to have infinite 
resources in himself. A complaint never issued from 
his lips. With unbroken spirit and undisturbed faith 
in his destiny, he proceeded to occupy himself with 
literary work and scientific investigation. In his 
sitting-room he built himself bookcases, and he 
turned his corridor into an experimenting ground 
for projectiles. A spare room was fitted up for a 
laboratory, where he spent many days in scientific 
investigations with the aid of a local chemist. 

The Prince, who was always an early riser, was at 
his work by seven o'clock, and was busy until eleven, 
when dejeuner was served from the canteen. He then 

n97 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

went out for his regular walk on the ramparts or for 
his horseback exercise in the court. Then he returned 
to his study or his laboratory where he occupied 
himself until five, when dinner was served. After 
dinner he conversed with Montholon and Conneau, 
and later the three prisoners, with their chief custo- 
dian, Captain Demarle, made up a party of whist. 

There was no break in this monotonous round of 
life, except when he received an occasional visit from 
some outside friend like Madame Cornu, the Hor- 
tense Lacroix of his boyhood days, a filleule of Queen 
Hortense, who at Arenenberg had been brought up 
with him almost like a foster-sister. She was now 
married and living in Paris, and was of great assist- 
ance to him in his literary work. She looked up refer- 
ences for him in the libraries, read and corrected his 
proofs, and constantly cheered him up with her 
bright and affectionate letters. Hortense was the 
literary adviser as well as the assistant of the 
Prince, and scores of letters which he wrote her dur- 
ing his imprisonment show the deep appreciation and 
gratitude which he felt for her invaluable services. 

Another constant friend and visitor was Vieillard, 
his former tutor at Arenenberg and Augsburg. Vieil- 
lard, who was a Deputy under Louis Philippe, and 
who mingled much in political circles, was his life-long 
friend and adviser. He never took part in any of the 
Prince's plots or plans, and never hesitated to disagree 
with him when he did not approve of his schemes. 

The amount of literary work which Prince Louis 
accomplished during the six years of his imprison- 
ment was very creditable, and especially so when 

C98I 



PRISONER OF STATE 

we consider the disadvantageous circumstances under 
which it was produced. His principal publications 
were: 

"Historical Fragments, 1 688-1 830"; "Manual of 
Artillery"; "Extinction of Pauperism"; "Old His- 
tory Always New," and "The Nicaragua Canal." 

The "Historical Fragments" was published during 
the first year of his confinement. In drawing together 
1688 and 1830, his idea was that these two great 
revolutions were divergent in their causes and their 
results. For England, 1688 was the beginning of an 
era of prosperity and greatness; for France, 1830 was 
the commencenient of an epoch of troubles, of which 
no one could foresee the end. The "Fragments" fill 
only 133 loosely printed pages. One of the striking 
phrases was: "There has never been, among free 
nations, a government strong enough to suppress for 
a long time liberty at home without glory abroad." 
This was to be the key-note of his policy when 
Emperor of the French, and was to lead him into 
many unprofitable and disastrous enterprises. 

In May 1843, he was hard at work on the new 
edition of his "Manual of Artillery," which finally 
developed into practically a new work, and occupied 
much of his time for the next two years. During this 
period his letters to Hortense Cornu are full of re- 
quests for different works on the subject, in Italian 
and German, as well as in French. At the same time 
he put forth his papers on the reform of the Army. 
He gave an outline of the Prussian system, and recom- 
mended its adoption by France. It was a democratic 
system adapted to the manners and feelings of the 

1:993 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

French. It would produce an army of a million and a 
half of men — not for conquest, but for the security 
of his country's independence. His plan was almost 
identical with that now in existence. In 1868, the Em- 
peror submitted it to the Council of State, but it was 
not adopted, unfortunately for France. 

"The Extinction of Pauperism" was written in 
March and April 1844, ^^ the midst of his work on 
the "Manual of Artillery." His solution of the prob- 
lem was the localization of the poor over the waste 
lands of France, and he was led to the idea, no doubt, 
by Napoleon's project for assigning to his Old Guard 
the unclaimed wastes of the Landes, a sandy region 
in the southwest of France. His propositions inflamed 
the popular imagination and attracted much favor- 
able attention. 

In an article entitled "Old History Always New," 
published in August 1844, he reviewed the feeble 
foreign expeditions undertaken by the July Mon- 
archy, which he claimed had lowered the prestige of 
France. His argument was illustrated by the following 
amusing anecdote: 

"On a summer day the Emperor Napoleon, having 
risen earlier than usual, crossed one of the great salons 
of the Tuileries. To his surprise, he found a child 
occupied in making an immense fire on one of the 
hearths. The Emperor asked the boy why he was 
kindling such a fire in mid-summer, and he answered 
frankly, *I am making ashes for my father, they are 
his perquisite.' " 

Exactly in the same manner, the Prince argued, 
the French Government for fourteen years had been 



PRISONER OF STATE 

burning the national fire-wood to obtain their per- 
quisite. If the acts of the Government since 1830 
were passed in review, the numerous foreign expedi- 
tions were just so many useless fires. The country 
got the smoke, and the Government the ashes — 
which they sold by weight ! 

The pamphlet on the "Nicaragua Canal" was the 
last fruit of his imprisonment at Ham. This project 
of a ship canal to join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans 
was long under consideration, and was never defi- 
nitely abandoned until the United States adopted 
the Panama route and undertook the completion of 
the canal begun by Lesseps. Many engineers still 
think that a sea-level canal at Nicaragua would have 
been better than the lock-canal actually constructed 
at Panama. But it would be futile now to rehearse 
the old arguments. The Interest which the Prince 
took in this matter, and the profound study which he 
gave to the problem, undoubtedly Influenced him 
later in his grandiose scheme for a Latin Empire in 
Mexico. 

The year after his escape from Ham, Prmce Louis 
endeavored to form a large corporation In London 
for the purpose of carrying out his scheme, but politi- 
cal events in France soon drew his attention away 
from the project. In after years he often reverted to It, 
and if he never realized his own dream, his studies 
led him to espouse the Suez Canal project warm- 
ly when presented to him by Monsieur de Lesseps. 

The course of reading and writing which Louis 
pursued during the five years of his imprisonment 
developed his intellect, and made of him a scholarly 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

man, one of the best-informed of his time. In after 
years he often spoke laughingly of his education at 
the "University of Ham." His activities included not 
only historical studies and scientific investigations, 
but also comments upon passing political events in 
the outside world. But back of all this, there still 
stands out, in all that he says and does, the Man of 
Destiny, who has never lost sight of his ultimate goal : 
the one Idea Is ever with him. Through the shadows 
of the present, his eye Is always fixed upon the star 
of Napoleon, which is to guide him to the heights of 
Imperialism. 

At the time the Prince reached Ham, the quarters 
In which he was confined were In a complete state of 
delapidation — roof, floors, windows, doors were all 
out of order. The building was low-lying and the 
fortress was surrounded by malarious marshes. Ow- 
ing to these unfavorable conditions, and the lack of 
sufficient exercise, the health of Louis finally broke 
down, and was never the same in after-life. He entered 
Ham a strong, vigorous man of thirty-two ; he left It 
five years later, thin and pale and sickly-looking. His 
term of imprisonment undoubtedly shortened his life 
by many years. 

The name of Napoleon had often been associated 
with that of Charlemagne, and ten centuries apart 
the histories of the two Empires had often been com- 
pared. The Great Emperor had always expressed 
much admiration for the character and achievements 
of his celebrated predecessor on the throne of France. 
At Milan, as King of Italy, he had placed on his head 
the Iron Crown of Charlemagne, and he had worn his 

C 102] 



PRISONER OF STATE 

Talisman on his breast on the fields of two of his great- 
est victories. It therefore seemed appropriate to Louis 
Napoleon that he should become the historian of his 
illustrious uncle's only prototype. Among those whom 
he consulted on the subject was the eminent historian 
Sismondi, whom he had met at Geneva during one of 
his mother's winter visits. The reply was cordial but 
not very encouraging. Sismondi pointed out the 
great difficulties of the task, and ended with the 
words: "You see, Prince, that if the splendor of con- 
quest has led men to compare Napoleon with Charle- 
magne, I feel that it is in this only there is relation 
between them, and that the influence of these two 
great men on the times which succeeded them was 
absolutely different." 

It was with some difficulty that Louis was finally 
persuaded to abandon his project. It shared the fate 
of the first plan of Napoleon for the Vendome Column 
at Paris, which was to have been similar in design to 
that of Trajan at Rome, and crowned with a bronze 
statue of Charlemagne. As finally erected the column 
bore on its summit a bronze statue of the Emperor 
in the toga of a Roman Senator. During the period 
of the Restoration this statue was replaced by a colos- 
sal fleur de lis, the emblem of the Bourbons. In 1833, 
Louis Philippe had placed upon the column a statue 
of the Emperor clothed in the traditional great-coat 
and hat, which is now in the Invalides, having been 
replaced in 1863, by Napoleon the Third, with very 
poor taste, by a reproduction of the original statue. 

At Ham, except that he did not breathe the air of 
liberty, the Prince had little cause to complain of his 

ni03 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

treatment by the authorities. All the books which he 
asked for were furnished him. He was permitted to 
correspond with public men, with savants, with lit- 
terateurs. Many persons were permitted to visit him, 
to cheer up his solitude, and among the number was 
a young woman, who brought him the offering of her 
love. Her name was Eleonore Vergeot. From this 
liaison, which lasted during the term of his imprison- 
ment, were born two sons, Eugene and Louis. The 
mother was afterwards married, and died in poverty 
in Paris forty years later. 

Among those who wished to bring to him the evi- 
dence of their sympathy were two Spanish ladies, of 
whom the younger was to play an important part in 
his life in after years. Endowed with a vivid and 
romantic imagination, she had been much impressed 
by the stories of the two adventures of the Prince 
which had had such unfortunate results. In her eyes, 
he was the Man of Destiny, suffering for his convic- 
tions. She proposed to her mother a visit to the 
Chateau of Ham. Madame de Montijo did not oppose 
her daughter's request, but for some unknown reason 
the visit never was made, and Eugenie never met her 
future consort until he was first magistrate of France. 

Among the many visitors to the Chateau was Lord 
Malmesbury, whom Louis had first met as a young 
man of twenty-one at Rome, and whom he had seen 
frequently during his residence in London. A few 
years later Malmesbury had a very cordial interview 
with the Prince-President at Paris, during the course 
of which the latter asked him if he remembered his 
visit to Ham, and continued: "I told you then that 

n 1043 



PRISONER OF STATE 

one day I would govern France, and you thought me 
crazy, Hke all the rest." 

Another caller, who was announced under the name 
of Smith, was later to prove of great service to the 
Prince at the time of his escape. He was the private 
secretary of Sir Thomas Buncombe, a Member of 
Parliament, and he came on behalf of his employer 
to propose a treaty of alliance between the Prince 
and the Duke of Brunswick, who had been expelled 
from his country in 1830 and was then living in 
London. All visitors to Geneva will remember the 
magnificent mausoleum erected by that city to the 
memory of this Prince, who on his death at Geneva 
in 1873 left his entire fortune of twenty million francs 
to the city. 

Louis Napoleon, who was now making plans for 
his escape, was in urgent need of funds for this pur- 
pose. It will be recollected that on entering the prison 
he had divested himself of what little property re- 
mained to him, in favor of his mother's pensionnaires. 
Now, taking advantage of the Duke's proposition, 
he sent Joseph Orsi to see him in London. The story 
of Orsi's visit reads like one of Poe's weird tales. In 
the court of Brunswick House, attached to the wall 
by chains, were two enormous mastiffs which guarded 
the stairway. Through gloomy corridors he was con- 
ducted into a vast hall which was furnished only 
with a table, two chairs and a lighted candle. After a 
wait of nearly an hour, Orsi was about to leave in 
disgust, when a portiere was drawn aside and to his 
wondering eyes there appeared the master of the 
mansion dressed in a monachal robe of black satin. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

with a hood covering his head to the eyes. In spite of 
this remarkable reception Orsi found courage to ex- 
plain the object of his visit. At first the Duke ab- 
solutely refused his assistance, but at the end of a 
long interview, the eloquence of Orsi won him over. 
The Duke was converted, and promised to advance 
the desired funds. 

Duncombe, by chance, had made the acquaintance, 
at London, of this half-crazy Duke of Brunswick, who 
in 1830 had been overthrown by his subjects for his 
disregard of the constitution, and on account of his 
extravagance and love of pleasure. He had found 
refuge in England and was laying plans to recover his 
dominions. By another fortunate chance, Duncombe 
had also been thrown into relations with Morny and 
Walewski, who were respectively the half-brother of 
Louis Napoleon and the son of the Great Emperor 
by the beautiful Comtesse Walewska. Both were 
to be very prominent during the Second Empire. 
Duncombe had conceived the chimerical idea of an 
alliance of interest by which the rich Duke should 
furnish the needy Prince with funds for his escape 
from prison and for another attempt to reestablish 
the Empire. In return for this assistance the Emperor 
Napoleon was to replace the Duke upon the throne 
of Brunswick. Such was the remarkable plan laid 
before the prisoner of Ham by Smith. It is said that a 
formal treaty was drawn up, approved and signed by 
the high contracting parties, but no trace of it could 
be found in after-years. Needless to say that it was 
impossible for Napoleon at a later date to carry out 
his part of this remarkable scheme. But for the mo- 



PRISONER OF STATE 

ment he was ready to agree to almost any plan which 
would give him a chance to be once more a free man. 

In the meantime the Prince continued to take his 
usual exercise, to receive visitors, and to occupy him- 
self with his literary and scientific work. For five 
years now there had been no break in the monotony 
of his prison life, and the Government of Louis 
Philippe began to think there would no longer be any 
risk in relaxing somewhat their rigorous surveillance 
of this apparently inoffensive dreamer. They even 
went so far as to intimate to Louis that the only thing 
which stood between him and his freedom was a for- 
mal request on his part to be set at liberty. There was 
nothing dishonorable on his part in making such a 
request, but from fear that impossible conditions 
would be attached to this act of clemency, he abso- 
lutely refused to make the demand. His historical 
reply was : " I will not leave Ham except to go to the 
cemetery or the Tuileries." 

As already stated, during the last year his health 
had begun to decline, although his mental activity 
was as great as ever. He felt that the time had come 
for a change of air. As he had refused to make a formal 
demand for his liberty, there only remained one out- 
come of the situation: escape, and this was by no 
means easy. 

The general arrangement of his rooms and the 
topography of the Chateau have already been de- 
scribed. His apartment, at the end of the interior 
court, was inclosed by thick walls. The entrance was 
through a guard-room, the door of which was always 
locked, and two sentinels were always on duty there. 

C1073 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The commandant of the prison was also ordered to 
visit his prisoner three times a day. The fortress had 
a garrison of four hundred men, of whom sixty were 
on guard all the time. From these details, the difficulty 
of any plan of escape is very apparent. 

The Prince, after much reflection, hit upon a very 
original scheme. To begin with, he did as much dam- 
age as possible to his rooms, which were already in a 
bad state of repair. Then he asked for an inspection, 
and requested that his quarters should be put in good 
order. If his request was granted, this would mean 
the employment of a number of workmen, who would 
come and go every day, and whose faces would not 
be familiar to the sentinels on guard. This, he 
calculated, would furnish him an opportunity for 
escape. 

The circumstances and incidents of this famous 
escape have often been told and are quite well known. 
With infinite patience the Prince waited until the 
twenty-fourth and last day of the work of reparation, 
that the guards might become used to the coming and 
going of the laborers. Then, disguised as a mason, his 
face spotted with mortar, a plank on his shoulder, he 
calmly walked past the sentinels on duty, tipping 
the plank so as to conceal his face when he met one 
who knew him well. At a short distance from the 
outer walls his valet Thelin awaited him with a car- 
riage, in which he succeeded in reaching the Belgian 
frontier a few hours later. 

To this narrative of the escape may be added a 
few interesting details to fill out the sketch. Doctor 
Conneau says: 

nio8 3 



PRISONER OF STATE 

"On the 25 May, we rose early at six o'clock. The 
Prince put on his workman's disguise, consisting of 
a coarse shirt, a blue blouse, and a pair of blue trousers, 
with an apron, and a pair of sabots over his boots. 
As his face was naturally pale, he colored it with some 
dye, which gave him a ruddy complexion. He also 
painted his eyebrows and put on a black wig, which 
completely covered his ears. Shortly after seven, he 
shaved off his thick whiskers and moustaches, and I 
declare I should not have recognized the Prince, well 
as I know his person. As soon as all was ready Thelin 
invited the workmen to have something to drink, and 
when the Prince knew they were all engaged he went 
down stairs." 

The Prince, in a letter dated from London a few 
days after his arrival, thus continues the narrative: 

"Once beyond the walls, I walked rapidly towards 
the road to Saint-Quentin. Shortly after, Charles, 
who the evening before had engaged a cabriolet for 
himself, joined me, and we arrived at Saint-Quentin. 
I crossed the town on foot, after having got rid of my 
blouse. Charles having procured a post-chaise under 
pretence of a drive to Cambral, we arrived without 
hindrance at Valenciennes, from whence I took the rail- 
road." 

In the meantime, his friend Doctor Conneau had 
been successful in putting off the regular visit of the 
commandant, upon the plea that the Prince was ill 
and sleeping quietly and must not be disturbed. Upon 
his next visit, the officer approached the bed, and 
found under the covers a manikin In place of the 
Prince. An alarm was at once sent out, but Louis was 

Ci09 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

already far on his way, and in those days there was 
no telegraph to call into play, to intercept the fugitive. 

The next day all the French and English journals 
announced: "Louis Napoleon Bonaparte has escaped 
from Ham." The day following his friend Hortense 
Cornu received this letter dated from London: *'It is 
not necessary for me to relate my escape ; the papers 
will give you sufficient details. My plans were so well 
laid that in less than eight hours I was in Belgium, 
and twelve hours later in London. It seems like a 
dream." 

The first appearance of Louis Napoleon in London 
after his escape was very dramatic. It was the night 
of the 26 May 1846, and a large party was being given 
at Gore House, the residence of Lady Blessington, 
when he suddenly made his appearance. No one had 
heard of his arrival in the city. He was again well re- 
ceived by his old friends, and he made up for his five 
years of seclusion by a furious pursuit of pleasure. 

It was at this time that he first made the acquaint- 
ance of the celebrated Miss Howard, whom he met 
one morning when riding in Hyde Park. She was a 
very beautiful girl, of rather humble origin. Her father 
had been a riding-master, and was now the proprietor 
of a fashionable academy much frequented by the 
jeunesse doree of the day. His daughter, who was a 
superb horse-woman, gave riding lessons, and soon 
had a large circle of ardent admirers. She was very 
fond of jewels, and in a short time had a magnificent 
collection, presented by her adorers. It was not long 
before she became the amie intime of the Prince, who 
was very devoted to her. Like the Comtesse Walewska 

Clio] 



PRISONER OF STATE 

with his uncle the First Napoleon, she seems to have 
been the one great love of his life. 

At this same time there was much talk of a mar- 
riage between the Prince and a young and charming 
English girl, Miss Emmy Bowles. By a very curious 
coincidence she was then living with her brother-in- 
law at Camden Place, Chislehurst, which a quarter 
of a century later was to be the residence of the 
Emperor after Sedan, and the place of his death. 
The project was given up when Miss Bowles heard 
of the liaison between the Prince and Miss Howard. 

Two years later, when Louis Napoleon was in ur- 
gent need of funds for the expenses of his presidential 
campaign in France, Miss Howard sold or pawned 
all of her magnificent collection of jewels and gave 
him the money. Later, he repaid all of these loans 
and gave her a very handsome allowance, besides the 
title of Comtesse de Beauregard. His attachment 
for her was so great that at the time of his marriage 
to Eugenie, many of his friends thought that he would 
never succeed in breaking his "English chains"; and 
he had great difficulty in pacifying the lovely English 
woman to whom he was so greatly indebted. The 
secret police were so afraid that she might escape their 
surveillance and make a public scandal at Notre 
Dame that they constrained her to leave Paris before 
the day of the Imperial wedding. 

During his second residence in London, Louis was a 
frequent guest of his cousin the Princesse Marie, 
daughter of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden, and 
Stephanie de Beauharnais, a cousin of Queen Hor- 
tense. She was the wife of the eldest son of the Duke 

Cm] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

of Hamilton, who became the eleventh duke of that 
name on the death of his father in 1852. The title of 
Due de Chatellerault, granted to his remote ancestor, 
in 1548, was conferred on her son the twelfth Duke 
of Hamilton by the Emperor Napoleon in 1864. 

His cousin Marie, who was much attached to him, 
did everything she could to dissuade Louis from any 
more fool-hardy adventures. His reply was: "Marie, 
I do not belong to myself; I belong to my name and 
my country. Though fortune has twice betrayed me, 
yet my destiny will none the less surely be fulfilled. 
I wait." He was not to wait much longer. 

The last year of the Prince's imprisonment at 
Ham, when the news reached him of the mortal illness 
of his father, the former King of Holland, he de- 
manded permission from the French Government to 
visit his dying parent in Italy. Although he offered 
to give his word of honor that he would return to 
Ham, as soon as the visit was accomplished, his re- 
quest was refused. One of the principal reasons which 
he gave for his escape was the desire to see once 
more his father whose end was approaching. As soon 
as he arrived in London he lost no time in calling upon 
his most influential friends to aid him in obtaining a 
sauf-conduit to go to Florence. The Austrian Am- 
bassador absolutely refused to grant him the neces- 
sary passports. Louis Napoleon therefore did not 
have the consolation of being present during the last 
moments of King Louis, who finally passed away from 
an attack of apoplexy the 25 July 1846, two months 
after his son's arrival in London. 




PRESIDENT LOUIS NAPOLEON 



CHAPTER EIGHT 

1846-1848 
REVOLUTION OF 1848 

Awaiting the Call of Destiny — Government of Louis Philippe 
— The Mehemet Ali Affair— .Ministry of Guizot — The 
February Revolution — Flight of the King — The Pro- 
visional Government — The June Riots — Louis Napo- 
leon at Paris — Elected to the Assembly — A Crucial 
Moment — The New Constitution — Candidate for the 
Presidency — Triumphant Election — Inaugurated as 
President of the Republic 

ON his arrival in London, the 26 May 1846, 
after his escape from Ham, Louis Napoleon 
went to the Brunswick Hotel in Jermyn 
Street, where he registered as the Comte d'Arenen- 
berg, taking the title of his mother's chateau in 
Switzerland. On the following day, he wrote a very 
affectionate letter to his father at Florence, briefly 
telling of his escape, and announcing his intention 
of joining him as soon as possible. 

Some months later he leased, at a rental of three 
hundred pounds a year, a new house at No. 10 King 
Street, near Saint James's Square. The house now 
bears another number, and has on the front wall a 
plaque commemorating the residence there of the 
Prince Louis Napoleon from 1846 to 1848. It is a 
narrow, four-story mansion, with an entrance up two 
steps from the level of the sidewalk. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Early in February 1847, he wrote his old friend and 
tutor Monsieur Vieillard regarding his new residence : 
** For two weeks now I have been settled in my new 
house, and I am delighted once more to have a home, 
for the first time in seven years. I have brought to- 
gether all my books and family portraits; in short 
all the precious objects which escaped from the 
wreck." 

Here he lived very quietly, while awaiting the "Call 
of Destiny." For several months after his escape, he 
was in very bad health, and he occupied himself only 
with his literary and scientific studies. He took part in 
no plots or schemes, and made no plans for the future. 

As soon as his health was better, he appeared again 
in society, where he was quite as well received as 
during his former residence in London before the 
Boulogne fiasco. Every morning he rode in Rotten 
Row, and in the afternoon was seen driving in Hyde 
Park. In the evening he went to the theatre or opera, 
or dropped in at one of his clubs for a quiet game of 
whist, which he had learned to play at Ham. In brief, 
he led the life of a man-about-town. 

The stories about his being very short of money at 
this time have no foundation of fact. It is true that 
the fortune of several million francs received from 
his mother's estate had been nearly all spent at the 
time of the Boulogne attempt, and that the balance 
had been divided among the old servants of Hortense 
when he entered Ham. But under the will of King 
Louis, who died just two months after his escape, he 
received all of his father's property, consisting of a 
palace at Florence, an estate at Civlta Nuova, and 



REVOLUTION OF 1848 

over three million francs in good securities. His father 
also left him all of his decorations, his heirlooms, 
and many precious souvenirs of the Emperor. Upon 
the estate of Civita Nuova alone he afterwards bor- 
rowed the sum of 325,000 francs. For that time, even 
for a Prince, he could hardly be called a poor man. 
Besides his own very comfortable bachelor establish- 
ment, he also maintained a very handsome home for 
the beautiful Miss Howard. 

As for the Prince himself, his personal tastes were 
always very simple, and he had ample means for all 
his own requirements. But he was continually sur- 
rounded by a crowd of partisans who made large de- 
mands upon his purse. To give just one instance: 
After the release of Doctor Conneau, who had been a 
fellow-prisoner at Ham, and had materially aided his 
escape, he urged the doctor to come to London, and 
bought for him a practice, for which he paid nine hun- 
dred pounds. It was to meet the large expenses of his 
political propaganda, and the constant demands of 
his friends and hangers-on, that he was obliged to 
borrow large sums of the Barings and Rothschilds 
and other leading banking-houses. This was un- 
doubtedly the basis of the current gossip about his 
being short of funds. 

For some time past Louis Napoleon had been 
closely watching political events in France. The 
Government of Louis Philippe which had long been 
in difficulties, was now "with its back to the wall" 
fighting for its very existence. During the first ten 
years of the July Monarchy, although there had 
been ten different ministries, there had been a fairly 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

continuous policy, as all had worked to sustain the 
Government, put down its enemies, and keep peace 
with foreign countries. When this result had finally- 
been accomplished, there came a break in the Gov- 
ernment due to the rivalry of two men, Thiers and 
Guizot, each of whom desired the leading place. Out 
of this rivalry there arose two separate parties, each 
with its theory of the constitution. The Left Centre, 
under Thiers, held that the King reigns but does not 
govern, or in other words, the English theory of 
government by responsible ministers. The Right 
Centre, under Guizot, on the other hand, said: "The 
throne is not an empty chair," and maintained that 
the King was not bound to follow strictly the 
opinions of the majority. 

Louis Philippe, for his part, had no idea of being an 
ornamental figure-head; he wished to govern as well 
as reign. He insisted on conducting foreign affairs 
himself, and meddled continually in internal mat- 
ters. As soon as his government seemed firmly estab- 
lished, he began to reveal his real purpose of being 
King in fact as well as in theory. Taking advantage 
of the party division, in 1836, the King forced Thiers 
to resign, but was compelled to recall him three years 
later. The chief feature of the second brief ministry 
of Thiers was its foreign policy. A few years prior to 
this date, a powerful vassal of the Sultan, named 
Mehemet Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, had revolted, 
and after conquering all of Syria, had pushed on into 
Asia Minor, and even threatened Constantinople 
itself. The Sultan, thoroughly frightened, appealed 
for aid, and Russia and England came to his assist- 

1:116a 



REVOLUTION OF 1848 

ance, while Prussia and Austria took the same side, 
all actuated by different motives. 

France, which had never ceased to be interested 
in Egypt, since the time of Napoleon's expedition, 
and which had officered and trained the Egyptian 
army, took the other side, and supported Mehemet 
Ali. But she stood alone, and her complete isolation 
was shown in 1840 when the Great Powers met in 
London, and, ignoring France, pledged themselves 
to take measures to bring the rebel to terms. Thiers 
urged a vigorous warlike policy, but the King, fearing 
that he might involve France and his monarchy in 
grave danger, refused to support him, and Guizot 
became chief minister, and remained in power until 
1848. This diplomatic humiliation of France caused 
an outburst of popular wrath, which led to the bring- 
ing back of the ashes of Napoleon from Saint Helena 
and other measures taken to conciliate public opinion. 
This was what Louis Napoleon meant when he said, 
at the time, that they ought to restore Napoleon's 
ideas as well as his remains to France. 

Guizot, who was eminent both as an historian and 
an orator, was a man of strong and rigid mind, of un- 
changeable principles. A King with the ideas and 
tendencies of Louis Philippe could not have had a 
more dangerous adviser. The Government was scru- 
pulous in its adherence to parliamentary forms, and 
by a clever manipulation of voters always managed 
to have a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The 
forms of the constitution were maintained but its 
spirit was nullified. 

Opposition to this system was inevitable, and was 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the main feature of domestic politics in France from 
1840 to 1848, when Louis PhiHppe and Guizot and 
the entire regime were violently overthrown. Through 
fear of shedding the blood of his people, when he 
could easily have got the situation in hand, the King 
abdicated and fled to England. 

The Revolution of 1848 in France came like a 
bolt from the blue. It was absolutely unpremeditated, 
entirely unexpected, and perfectly successful. In 
three days it was all over. On the morning of the 24 
February there was no thought of a Republic ; by sun- 
set the Second French Republic had been proclaimed. 
Nominally it lasted nearly five years, from the 24 
February 1848 to the 2 December 1852, when the 
Second Empire was proclaimed. Practically, however, 
it came to an end with the coup d'etat of the second 
of December 1851. 

The Provisional Government, chosen 24 February, 
remained in power about ten weeks, and was then 
succeeded by the National Assembly which framed 
the Constitution of the Republic, and governed the 
country until the election of the President and Legis- 
lative Assembly the tenth of December of the same 
year. 

The Provisional Government was obliged to main- 
tain itself by force of arms. The last of June there 
was an insurrection of the Commune in Paris. General 
Cavaignac, who was made military dictator, finally 
put down the insurgents after four days of the most 
fearful street fighting that Paris had ever known. 
Ten thousand men were killed or wounded, and as 
many more made prisoners, and immediately de- 



REVOLUTION OF 1848 

ported. The anxiety for the future was so great that 
the powers of the dictator were continued for four 
months, until the end of October. One of the unfor- 
tunate results of this insurrection was that it led to 
the ultimate overthrow of the Republic. All classes 
were united in demanding a government of law and 
order. One-man power seemed to be the only salva- 
tion of the country. 

The first information which Louis Napoleon had 
of the Revolution of 1848 was on the afternoon of 
the 25 February. As he was returning to his home in 
King Street he heard the loud cries of the newsboys 
selling the "extras" which announced that the King 
had been dethroned and a Republic proclaimed in 
France. The Call of Destiny had come at last! 

The Prince lost no time. Without any escort, 
equipped only with a small travelling bag, he took 
the first train for Folkestone. A few hours later he 
trod once more the sands of Boulogne, which had 
once threatened to swallow up his fortunes. At the 
same hour Louis Philippe thanked God that he was 
safe on English soil. What a strange turn of Fortune*s 
wheel ! 

By another remarkable coincidence, Louis Napo- 
leon had crossed the Channel on the return trip of 
the same boat which had brought over to England 
the Due de Nemours, the son of Louis Philippe ; and 
the next day in the train to Paris, Louis found him- 
self seated opposite two friends of the Due who had 
escorted him to the coast. They were so astonished to 
see the former prisoner of Ham en route for Paris 
that they could hardly believe their eyes. 

1:1193 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

As soon as Lamartine and the members of the Pro- 
visional Government learned of the presence of the 
Prince in Paris, they strongly advised him to return 
to England. His surprise was so great that for the 
first time in his life he seemed to feel really discour- 
aged. 

At the April elections not a voice was raised in 
favor of the name of Bonaparte. But his patience and 
resignation were soon rewarded. At the June elections, 
without having presented himself as a candidate, he 
was chosen as Deputy from four Departments. 

Once more the Prince packed his bag and set out 
for Paris. On his arrival, he went to live quietly at 
the Hotel du Rhin, in the Place Vendome, from the 
windows of which he could see towering about the 
capital the figure of the Great Emperor whose genius 
had been the guiding star of his life. Here he played 
his cards very adroitly. He avoided publicity, kept 
himself carefully in the background, affected timidity 
and indecision. He did not make his first appearance 
in the Assembly until the end of September, and then 
very modestly. He took an inconspicuous seat next 
to his old professor Vieillard. In presenting a paper 
two days later he created rather an unfavorable im- 
pression by his marked German accent, which he 
never entirely overcame. From the age of seven, his 
boyhood and early manhood had been passed either 
in a German-speaking canton of Switzerland or at 
school in Bavaria, and it was not strange that he had 
acquired a German accent. 

On the ninth of October there was to be a vote 
upon an amendment declaring members of the 

C1203 



REVOLUTION OF 1848 

former imperial and royal families of France ineligible 
as candidates for the presidency of the Republic. 
This was perhaps the crucial moment of his entire 
career. He entered after the debate had begun, as 
though not particularly interested, and then listened 
in complete silence. When he finally arose to speak 
some of the members called for a vote, without hear- 
ing him. The member who occupied the tribune, how- 
ever, yielded his place to his "honorable colleague, 
Louis Napoleon." Instantly there was complete si- 
lence; every one expected from his mouth a grave, 
solemn statement of his position. He pronounced a 
few rambling words, without any particular signifi- 
cance, and then descended from the tribune amidst 
a general laugh of derision. The most eloquent and 
carefully prepared address could not have better 
served his purpose. He cut such a sorry figure that 
Thouret contemptuously withdrew the amendment 
by which he had intended to bar Louis Napoleon from 
the presidency. 

Under the new constitution the President of the 
Republic was to be elected for four years and to be 
ineligible for reelection until after a four years' 
interval. The executive was given very considerable 
powers, which was felt to be safe in view of the short- 
ness of his term and the fact that he could not be 
elected for two consecutive terms. 

This being settled, the next Important matter to 
be decided was as to the method of choosing the 
President. After a long debate, It was voted by a 
large majority that the chief executive should be 
elected by universal suffrage. This was very favorable 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

to the plans of Louis Napoleon, as the French elec- 
torate, from its lack of political experience, would 
probably be influenced more by the glamour of some 
famous name, than guided by an intelligent analysis 
of the character and fitness of the candidates for the 
high office. 

At the time of the Revolution of February 1848 the 
only surviving brother of Napoleon was King Jerome, 
the youngest of the family. Joseph had died at Flor- 
ence in July 1844, and Louis at Leghorn two years 
later. Jerome had forfeited all claims to be considered 
a leader in the Bonaparte cause. In December 1847, 
he had solicited, and obtained, permission from Louis 
Philippe to reside three months in France ; and among 
the papers found unsigned in the King's cabinet at 
the Tuileries after his flight was the grant of a peerage 
with a pension of 100,000 francs to the former King 
of Westphalia. Under the favor of the Orleans Mon- 
archy, Jerome and his son Napoleon were actually 
living in Paris when the Revolution broke out. The 
only member of the Bonaparte family who was 
worthy of being the successor of the Great Emperor 
was the pale and thoughtful student of the "Univer- 
sity of Ham," who had done and suffered so much for 
the cause. 

At this time, Prince Louis Napoleon was practi- 
cally unknown to the great mass of his fellow-country- 
men, while with those who were better informed, the 
failure of his attempts at Strasbourg and Boulogne 
had not served to enhance his reputation. But so 
quickly did events move and opinions change during 
this remarkable year of 1848, that by the time a deci- 



REVOLUTION OF 1848 

sion had been reached regarding the method of elect- 
ing the President, he was generally known to be a 
leading candidate for the position. His name was one 
to conjure with. It was his only capital, but it was 
sufficient. With universal suffrage, the peasants 
formed the great majority of the voters, and there 
was not one to whom the magic name of Napoleon 
was unknown. Their fathers had fought with the 
Great Emperor at Austerlitz and Jena, they had 
carried the glorious eagles of France to Vienna and 
Berlin, why should they not vote for his nephew and 
heir ^ 

But he also had much strength with the middle 
classes, the bourgeoisie. Louis Napoleon by his pro- 
fessions and his family name seemed to stand for law 
and order, and for the rights of property, always so 
dear to the French. Again, for many years a series 
of brilliant writers had been portraying in history and 
in poetry the wonders of the Napoleonic era, and a 
new legend had grown up, fair, thrilling and alto- 
gether captivating. 

The only formidable competitor of the Prince was 
General Cavaignac, who had governed Paris as mili- 
tary dictator for several months, and was generally 
unpopular, especially with the working class, by 
whom he was detested for the sanguinary manner 
in which he had put down the June insurrection. 

Paradoxical as it may seem, the success of Louis 
Napoleon as a presidential candidate was due both 
to his strength and his supposed weakness. His name, 
and the principles of government for which he stood, 
appealed to the friends of tranquillity and public 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

order. To the republicans and royalists, on the other 
hand, he was satisfactory on account of his supposed 
feebleness of character and lack of spirit and energy. 
The former thought they could easily dominate him, 
the latter that they could replace him, when the op- 
portune moment arrived, by a prince of the royal 
house. So all factions united in paving the way for 
his election. 

For these reasons, when the election was held in 
December 1848, Prince Louis Napoleon was chosen 
President by an overwhelming majority, receiving 
5,400,000 votes to 1,500,000 for Cavaignac, his 
nearest competitor. 

When Louis Napoleon entered the crowded As- 
sembly chamber, on the 20 December 1848, all eyes 
were turned upon him. Monsieur Marrast arose from 
the Presidential chair and announced that Citizen 
Louis Bonaparte, having obtained an absolute ma- 
jority of votes, was proclaimed by the National 
Assembly as President of the French Republic, from 
that day until the second Sunday of May 1852, and 
he was invited to ascend the tribune and take the 
oath of office, which was as follows: "In the presence 
of God and before the French people, I swear to re- 
main faithful to the democratic Republic, and to 
defend the Constitution." The Prince raised his right 
hand and said, "I swear." 

The occasion is thus described by Jerrold: "Then 
for the first time appeared in an official scene the 
figure that was destined to become familiar to France 
and to Europe : a thoughtful, pale face, overcast with 
such sadness as years of care set upon a man's aspect; 

ni24 3 



REVOLUTION OF 1848 

the broad brow, lightly covered with fair hair; the 
blue eyes, veiled, but flashing at intervals; a slight 
figure, slow in movement and dignified in carriage." 

The Prince was in evening dress, and wore the 
rosette of Deputy, and the grand cross of the Legion 
d'honneur on his breast. The scene closed with the 
departure of the Prince-President to the Elysee 
Palace, which had been assigned as his official resi- 
dence. By some oversight, not a room had been pre- 
pared for his reception. The new occupant of the 
Elysee had to be content for the first night with a 
bed, a table and a chair. Fortunately the former 
prisoner of State was a man of simple habits. 

It was just a third of a century since the last visit 
of Prince Louis to the Elysee on that memorable 
evening in June 181 5, when just prior to his departure 
for the fatal campaign of Waterloo, the Emperor had 
embraced him for the last time, and had made to 
Marshal Soult the prophetic remark: "He is perhaps 
the hope of my race." 



ni2s3 



CHAPTER NINE 

1848-1852 

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

The Elysee Palace — The Prince Plans a Coup d'Etat — 
Strength of the Monarchial Party — The June Insurrec- 
tion — Franchise Law of 1850 — The President and the 
Assembly — Removal of General Changarnier — The Coup 
d*Etat — The Second of December — The Two Following 
Days — Verdict of the Nation — The New Constitution 
— Old Debts Paid — Last Year of the Republic — The 
Plebescite — The Empire Proclaimed 

THE Palais de I'Elysee, the official residence 
of the Prince-President during the Second 
Republic, is situated to the north, or right, 
of the Champs-Elysees as you ascend this magnificent 
avenue towards the Arc de Triomphe. It is very 
rarely noticed by the casual visitor to Paris, as the 
building itself is entirely screened in summer by 
the heavy foliage of the large park on the side of the 
Avenue Gabriel which runs parallel to the Champs- 
Elysees. 

The Palace, which was built in 171 8, during the 
reign of Louis the Fifteenth, was inhabited, until her 
death, by the notorious Madame de Pompadour. After 
this it was the residence, till her emigration in 1790, 
of the Duchesse de Bourbon-Conde, from which fact 
it became known as the Elysee-Bourbon. Confiscated 
during the Revolution, it was sold in 1803 to Murat, 
who occupied it as Governor of Paris during the 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

early years of the Empire, until he was made King 
of Naples by Napoleon in i8o8. It was then pur- 
chased by the Emperor, who occupied it for several 
weeks in the spring of 1815 prior to his departure for 
the campaign of Waterloo in June. Here he returned 
for a few days after the battle, and here he signed his 
final abdication. 

After the Second Restoration, this palace of many 
changes passed into the hands of the son of Charles 
the Tenth, the Due de Berry, who lived there until 
his murder in 1820. It was then occupied for a short 
time by his son the Due de Bordeaux, born seven 
months after his father's death. He was better known 
later as the Comte de Chambord. Two years after 
the Franco- Prussian war he might have become King 
of France under the title of Henri Cinq but for his 
refusal to adopt the tricolor of the Revolution and 
the Empire in place of the white flag of the monarchy. 
On his death in 1883, the elder branch of the Bourbon 
family became extinct. 

During the Second Republic the property was 
again confiscated, and the palace was the official 
residence of Louis Napoleon until he went to the 
Tuileries at the time of the proclamation of the 
Empire. Under the Third Republic it has once more 
become the residence of the President. 

Louis Napoleon had not been installed in the 
Elysee six weeks before he began to think of a coup 
d'etat. The last of January 1849 he approached on 
the subject Changarnier, the most popular of his 
generals. But he had no sooner broached the matter 
than he saw that the general was not inclined to be 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

sympathetic, and he adroitly changed the conversa- 
tion, and maintained his sphinx-like silence until 
three years later, when he carried out his plans with- 
out the assistance of Changarnier. But with his usual 
patience and perseverance, and tenacity of purpose, 
he kept this project constantly in mind. To keep 
silent called for no effort on his part: it was second- 
nature. With slow steps he pursued his quiet way 
towards the ultimate goal, always carefully watching 
and taking advantage of every shift in the changing 
winds of public opinion. In the meantime he had no 
idea of showing his hand before the opportune mo- 
ment arrived. 

Twenty years before, Louis Philippe, just before 
mounting the throne of Charles the Tenth, wrote 
the exiled monarch that he had been constrained by 
force of circumstances, and that if he were offered 
a title, to which he had not aspired. His Majesty 
could rest assured that he would not exercise any 
kind of power except temporarily and in the sole 
interest of the exiled House. 

So the Prince- President, before assuming the title 
of Emperor, declared over and over again: "Je ne 
suis pas un ambitieux.'* Never, never would he raise 
a sacrilegious hand against the Republic, the object 
of his sacred affection ! 

In his hopes he was greatly encouraged by the 
evident dread of the red spectre by the great mass 
of the French nation. Having had so little experience 
with republican institutions, the majority of the pop- 
ulation could only recall in this connection the ex- 
cesses of the Revolution. They looked to the Prince 

1:1283 




NAPOLEON III 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

as the symbol of law and order, the only barrier be- 
tween the nation and anarchy. 

At the first election of the Legislative Assembly, in 
May 1849, out of 750 members, there were returned 
about 70 moderate Republicans, about 180 Socialists, 
and about 500 Monarchists, who were nearly all 
adherents either of the Bourbon or Orleans family, 
only a few being favorable to the Bonapartes. Thus 
in the first legislature elected under the new Consti- 
tution, only seventy were sincerely attached to the 
new form of government. The explanation of this 
remarkable result lies in the fact that the June riots 
had not yet been forgotten, and the mass of the 
French nation believed that the Republic was dan- 
gerous to law and order. Both the President and 
the Assembly therefore were enemies of the Constitu- 
tion which they had sworn to protect. This anoma- 
lous situation could not long endure. 

The three years that elapsed between the inaugu- 
ration of the President and the coup d'etat of De- 
cember 185 1, which virtually ushered in the Empire, 
although it was not proclaimed until a year later, 
can be passed over briefly, as they were not a 
period of legislative or social reform, but of adroit 
maneuvers for party advantages without regard for 
the interests of France. 

At first the President and the monarchial majority 
cooperated against the Republican party, which each 
felt to be the real enemy. The Opposition soon pre- 
sented the Government with an opportunity of which 
it was not slow in taking advantage. In June 1849 an 
insurrection broke out which was easily put down. 

ni29] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Following up its victory, the Government arrested 
33 Members of the Opposition and deprived them of 
their seats, and also suppressed their journals. Public 
meetings were forbidden for a year. Paris was put 
under martial law, a measure which greatly increased 
the power of the President. 

In 1850 the Assembly enacted a new Franchise 
Law, which deprived over three million men of the 
right to vote, and practically abolished universal 
suffrage. By this measure over one third of the elec- 
torate were deprived of the suffrage, and they natu- 
rally were very bitter against the Assembly. Another 
law was passed, restricting the freedom of the press, 
which resulted in wiping out of existence most of the 
cheap papers of the Republicans and Socialists, who 
could not meet the requirements. 

The common enemy having been overcome, war 
now broke out between the President and the mon- 
archial majority in the Assembly. The most bitter 
fight was over the revision of the Constitution. Louis 
Napoleon, who had no idea of retiring to private 
life at the end of his four-year term, demanded that 
this clause be stricken out. When the Assembly re- 
fused, he turned the tables on his opponents by de- 
manding the repeal of the act limiting the suffrage, 
thus posing as the guardian of the Constitution. He 
thus gained the good-will of the three million voters 
who had been disfranchised, and made sure of their 
support in any attack which he might make on the 
Assembly. 

Balked of his ambition of remaining in power by 
peaceful means, the Prince-President now planned 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

and carried out with extraordinary precision and suc- 
cess a remarkable coup d'etat. For its success, secrecy 
was the absolute prerequisite, and never was secrecy 
better maintained. Possessing the power of appoint- 
ment to civil and military positions, his first step was 
to remove General Changarnier from the command 
of the Army of Paris. 

The excitement in the Chamber was intense. The 
man whom they had despised and derided when he 
first appeared as a Deputy in their midst, whom they 
had thought to control, and to twist and turn at their 
pleasure, had suddenly displayed the power and de- 
cision of a master-mind. Changarnier exchanged his 
headquarters in the Tuileries for the modest apart- 
ment which he leased in a small furnished hotel of the 
Rue Saint-Honore. Paris was quiet, and securities 
went up on the Bourse. 

The struggle between the two opposing forces con- 
tinued throughout the year 1851. The Prince-Presi- 
dent continually gained friends and supporters. 
Desirous of strengthening his hold on the people he 
made a triumphant tour of the provinces. The field 
of operations was now ready, it only remained to 
choose the men who by their character and their 
assurance would carry his plans to a triumphal finish. 

The decision that the hour for action had come 
was not reached until he was convinced by Morny, 
Persigny and Saint-Arnaud that he could no longer 
temporise, unless he wished himself to go to Vin- 
cennes instead of his enemies. It is not surprising that 
he preferred the route to the Tuileries. 

The chief reliance of Louis Napoleon in planning 

C 131 1 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

and carrying out the coup d'etat was his old friend 
and accompHce in the affairs of Strasbourg and 
Boulogne, Persigny, who was assisted by two men 
who proved of inestimable value in the enterprise. 
Although the names of Fleury and Veron were then 
comparatively unknown, they both contributed pow- 
erfully to the elevation of the Prince-President to 
the Imperial throne. 

At the time, Fleury held a position of importance 
in the Ministry of War. It was he who selected the 
regiments to be successively quartered in Paris, and 
sent them back to the provinces thoroughly won over 
to the idea that the Imperial form of government 
was the best hope both for France and the Army. 
It was Fleury also who designated the officers for 
promotion, and who won the adhesion of Saint- 
Arnaud and Magnon. The success of Fleury proved 
that he was a skilful diplomatist as well as a valiant 
soldier. In 1848, however. Colonel Emile Fleury was 
known only as a brilliant, dashing officer, with a 
splendid record for personal valor. It was Persigny 
who detected in him the sterling qualities necessary 
for his purpose. 

Almost without exception, the men who carried 
through the coup d'etat had given proofs of their 
courage on the field of battle. Persigny knew all about 
Saint-Arnaud and probably suggested his name to 
Fleury. Like Persigny himself, Saint-Arnaud had had 
rather a checkered career. Although member of a 
good family, he had been a soldier, and then in turn 
a commercial traveller, an actor and a fencing-master^ 
before he again entered the army. 

C1323 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

Doctor Veron was at that time the proprietor of 
the " Constitutionnel," which in the opinion of La- 
mart ine was the ablest journal of the Republic, and 
he was the sole arbiter of its policy. He was also the 
Director of the Opera, which he had raised to a pitch 
of prosperity such as it never reached before. All 
this, however, did not satisfy his ambition: his one 
desire was to become a factor in politics. 

Another man of mark who rallied to the Prince- 
President at this time was the Comte de Morny, a 
former adherent of the Orleans dynasty, who had 
become convinced that the star of Napoleon was 
again in the ascendant. As a young man, Morny had 
shown great aptitude for commercial enterprises, but 
he was first of all a man of fashion and of pleasure. A 
courtier and a man of affairs, a dandy and a sports- 
man, this son of Hortense, with the powerful backing 
of his reputed grandfather, the great Talleyrand, had 
become a favorite in society and a power in the politi- 
cal world. "Like all men who have had many love 
affairs," Emile OUivier remarks of him, "he had no 
tenderness; in its stead he had grace, an easy wit, 
tact, cordiality, a seductive charm. There was no pose 
in his manner, no surliness, but a captivating spon- 
taneity. He was always affable, and although busy 
never appeared to be in a hurry. It was impossible to 
approach him without feeling attracted at first, and 
then moved by sympathy." The figure of Morny is 
familiar to the general reader in the Due de Mora 
of "Le Nabab" of Alphonse Daudet, who had been 
one of his secretaries. 

Morny had in short the qualities and defects of the 
C1333 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

society in which he had been brought up, in the salon 
of the briUiant Madame de Souza, the mother of 
Comte de Flahaut. A briUiant cavalry officer, he had 
won the cross by his valor on the field of battle. At 
the age of thirty he was at the head of the beet-sugar 
industry of France, and a Deputy. In the Chamber 
he distinguished himself by his knowledge of financial 
matters. 

Once attached to the cause of the Prince-President, 
he became, and remained for the rest of his life, one 
of his ablest assistants and counsellors. He was his 
representative in the many conferences which took 
place while the plans for the coup d'etat were being 
matured. The coming event cast its shadows before. 
Saint-Arnaud was made Minister of War, and General 
Magnan was put in command of the Army of Paris, 
thus putting the military power of the capital com- 
pletely under the control of the Prince-President. 
Through the new Prefect of Police, Maupas, this 
powerful organization was also in the hands of the 
Prince. 

On the first of December the opposition party in 
the Assembly were cheerful in the belief that the day 
of their triumph was near at hand, and the Orleanists 
were looking forward to a Third Restoration. Prince 
de Joinville had crossed the Channel to join his 
brother the Due d'Aumale, who was to take the com- 
mand of the troops at Lille, who were supposed to be 
well-affected towards the Royal party. 

At the Elysee, the day passed quietly. The Prince- 
President went over his correspondence with his 
secretary, Mocquard, gave interviews to his Minis- 

Cm] 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

ters, and saw his friends as usual. In the evening he 
gave a dinner, which was followed by his regular 
Monday evening reception. Morny rode in the Bois 
in the morning, appeared later at the Jockey Club, 
and in the evening sauntered from box to box at the 
Opera Comique. 

During the day, the final plans were arranged, the 
military by Fleury and Saint-Arnaud, the political 
by Morny and the Prince. The reception at the Elysee 
in the evening was crowded as usual. At eight o'clock, 
the Prince withdrew for a moment, to give some direc- 
tions to his secretary, who was docketing the papers 
relative to the coming event. Upon the package, Louis 
Napoleon wrote in pencil, "Rubicon.'* An hour later 
he paid his secretary a second visit, and carefully 
corrected the proofs of the proclamations, which in a 
few hours were to be posted on the walls of Paris. At 
ten o'clock, as usual, he finally withdrew to his pri- 
vate apartment. As he reentered his cabinet he said 
with a laugh to Monsieur Mocquard: "There is 
general talk in the rooms to-night of an imminent 
coup d'etat, but it is not ours: the National Assembly 
is going to send me to Vincennes in a panier a salade,'' 
— the French name for the "Black Maria." 

With a key attached to his watch-chain, Prince 
Louis opened a secret drawer in his desk, and with- 
drew three sealed packets which contained the final 
secret instructions. These he placed upon the Roman 
mosaic table upon which the Emperor had signed his 
second abdication. Then Persigny arrived, followed 
by Maupas, Morny and Saint-Arnaud. After a short 
conference, the meeting broke up and the Prince re- 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

tired to his room for the night. Morny went to the 
Jockey Club for a rubber of whist, as he had no 
further part to play until the next morning. Saint- 
Arnaud, as Minister of War, gave his final orders to 
Magnan, the commander of the Army of Paris, who 
was bound to obey him, and in this instance did so 
with a will. 

When Maupas, the new Prefect of Police, left the 
Elysee at eleven o'clock, he took with him in his 
carriage Colonel de Beville, to whom had been en- 
trusted the proclamations to be printed. The Colonel 
was to pass the night at the Imprimerie Nationale, to 
watch the printing, so that the news should not get 
out, and well he performed his task. Sentinels were 
placed at every window and door, and no one was 
allowed to leave the establishment until the printing 
was done. At the appointed hour, the proclamations 
were ready, and Paris awoke to find them posted on 
all the walls of the capital. 

The success or failure of the coup d'etat rested 
primarily with Maupas. If one of his arrests had 
failed, the alarm would have been given, and the 
success of the carefully laid plans put in jeopardy. 
But the new Prefect was an experienced policeman, 
and there was not a single mistake made. Before 
morning the State prisoners were all safely escorted 
to the prison of Mazas. Within an hour all the public 
men, seventy-eight in number, who could have op- 
posed the plans of the Prince, had been arrested in 
their beds, and put under lock and key. 

Such in brief is the story of the preliminaries of the 
coup d'etat, as told by Jerrold, in his voluminous 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

"Life of Napoleon III." While the account differs 
in some respects from the generally accepted version, 
and is undoubtedly colored by his sympathies, it is 
probably in the main reliable. 

The historical day, the second of December 1851, 
began with a great movement of troops. At ten o'clock 
in the morning the Prince-President descended from 
his apartment in the Elysee, and appeared in the 
Court of Honor. The cuirassiers of the guard drew 
their sabres and cried: "Vive I'Empereur!" It was a 
little premature, and they were ordered to moderate 
their zeal. Louis Napoleon and his brilliant suite of 
forty general officers, with their plumed hats, and 
uniforms covered with gold braid, immediately 
mounted, and the cavalcade set out for a promenade 
through the streets of Paris. The party turns to the 
right in the direction of the Rue Royale and the 
Place de la Concorde. The President rides alone at 
the head. A little behind at his right is King Jerome, 
and at the left. General Saint-Arnaud, the Minister 
of War. All the way to the Place de la Concorde the 
streets are lined with regiments of infantry. The side- 
walks are crowded with spectators, who look on in 
curiosity and surprise. 

Louis Napoleon, riding ahead, on his superb Eng- 
lish mount, shows in his set face neither pride nor 

joy. 

In the Place de la Concorde there were general 
cries of: "Vive I'Empereur!" and other voices added : 
" Aux Tuileries." The gates of the Garden were open, 
and the Prince entered and took the route to the 
Palace. But old King Jerome, prudent for once in his 

C1373 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

life, whispered in his ear: "Louis, you are going too 
fast. Better not enter the Chateau yet." The Prince 
turned and went back. 

The cavalcade then crossed the Place de la Con- 
corde, traversed the Pont-Royal, and reached the 
Place of the Palais-Bourbon, the seat of the Legisla- 
tive Chamber. The President had now finished his 
course, and the party returned to the Elysee by way 
of the Pont de la Concorde. 

This demonstration was only the preliminary of the 
real drama which was to follow. That evening the 
Prince suffered from the same attack of nerves which 
had affected Napoleon the i8 Brumaire, when his 
brother Lucien came to his aid. Morny and Persigny 
advised him to go to bed and sleep off his nervous 
headache and leave the direction of affairs to them. 

He shut himself up in one of the salons of the 
Elysee, where the Emperor had retired to sign his 
abdication. At the last moment he hesitated to follow 
the road to power and glory upon which he had en- 
tered and thought only of his oath to preserve the 
Constitution. But it was too late now to turn back. 
The cavalry was already charging the crowds and 
clearing the boulevards. 

One can never be sure of the final outcome of a 
political coup de main until all is over. On the second 
December all chances favored the Bonaparte enter- 
prise. The day was the anniversary of the coronation 
of the Emperor Napoleon in 1804, and of his most 
brilliant victory, Austerlitz, the following year. Dur- 
ing the early morning hours many arrests had been 
made of leading republicans and monarchists. Plac- 

ni38 3 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

ards were pasted on all the walls of Paris announcing 
the dissolution of the Assembly and the reestab- 
lishment of universal suffrage, and suggesting a 
change in the Constitution by which the President 
should hold office for ten years. The people were called 
upon to approve or disapprove these suggestions. 
What would be the popular verdict ? 

During this eventful day, there had been no ex- 
citement in Paris. The shops, banks and offices had 
remained open. The law courts held their sittings. At 
no time had business been interrupted or the ordinary 
current of Paris life been changed. By four o'clock 
in the afternoon, all danger of opposition seemed over. 
In the evening the theatres were as crowded as usual. 

But Morny, Saint-Arnaud and Maupas did not 
relax their vigilance. There were indications of 
dangerous undercurrents foreboding trouble on the 
morrow. Magnan kept the army in hand, ready for 
any eventualities. The Prince-President gave a dinner 
that evening to Turgot, the new Minister for Foreign 
Affairs, and afterwards held a small reception at the 
Elysee. 

On the morning of the third, the "Moniteur" pub- 
lished the list of the new Ministry. The principal mem- 
bers, besides Turgot, were Eugene Rouher, Justice; 
Saint-Arnaud, War; and Morny, Interior. 

The Marquis de Turgot had been a Peer of France 
under Louis Philippe, but had finally rallied to the 
cause of the Prince-President, and from this time until 
his death in 1866, he served the Emperor, as Minister, 
Senator and Ambassador. 

ni39 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Monsieur Rouher had already distinguished him- 
self as an advocate in the provinces and as a Deputy 
at Paris. He was rough and uncouth in his manners, 
but was a man of strong, original mind, and pos- 
sessed great gifts as an orator. He continued in public 
office nearly all the time until the fall of Napoleon, 
and during the final years of the Empire was known 
as the "Vice-Emperor." His figure has been sketched 
by Zola in "Son Excellence Eugene Rougon." 

Le Roy de Saint-Arnaud was a brilliant soldier, 
who had served with credit under the Due d'Aumale 
when he was Governor of Algeria. For his services 
during the coup d'etat he was made a Marshal of 
France. He commanded the French army in the 
Crimea and with Lord Raglan won the victory of Alma 
20 September 1854. He died at sea nine days later. 

No precautions had been neglected by the Prince- 
President to insure the approval of the nation. Never- 
theless, on the third of December barricades were 
raised in the streets of Paris, and on the following day 
occurred the famous "massacre of the boulevards." 
Over 150 were killed and many more wounded. Paris 
was cowed. The coup d'etat was an assured success. 
Many of the departments of France were put under 
martial law, and thousands were arrested and im- 
prisoned or exiled. The work begun on the second 
of December was thoroughly carried out. 

During the excitement of the third, the Prince- 
President had appeared in the Faubourg Saint-An- 
toine in his carriage, alone and without escort. The 
mob, awed by the Prince's courage, took off their 
caps and raised a shout of, "Vive I'Empereur!" 

C 140 3 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

"On the fourth night after the coup d'etat," re- 
lates Captain Gronow, "I was present at a ball given 
by the Duchess of Hamilton in honor of the Prince- 
President, at the Hotel Bristol, Place Vendome. The 
Prince entered the ball-room accompanied only by 
one aide. He appeared perfectly cool and collected; 
he conversed with a great many persons, but more 
particularly with Lord Cowley, who had only arrived 
in Paris that morning to fill his post of British Am- 
bassador. The instant the clock struck twelve, the 
Prince's carriage was announced; whereupon the 
Duke of Hamilton, taking two wax candles, con- 
ducted his guest downstairs, and handed him into 
his plain brougham. On his return to the ball-room, 
the Duke remarked that it was extraordinary that 
there was neither a police nor a military guard to 
protect the President." In fact, the Prince, without 
an escort, returned at midnight to the Elysee in a 
one-horse brougham! 

Having thus thoroughly prepared the ground, Louis 
Napoleon appealed to the nation to approve his prop- 
osition for remodelling the Constitution. At the elec- 
tion held 20 December over seven millions voted in 
favor of so doing, and less than seven hundred thou- 
sand in the negative. Although the election was by 
no means fair, although force and intimidation were 
resorted to, it was evident that a vast majority of the 
nation approved of the coup d'etat and was willing 
to entrust the government to another Napoleon. 

Although still nominally President of the Republic, 
Louis Napoleon was in fact an absolute monarch. 
Little by little he surrounded himself with all the 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

state of a sovereign. He did not yet take up his resi- 
dence in the Tuileries, partially because the lower 
floor was being repaired, but he gave large fetes in 
the state apartments on the first floor. 

The 14 January 1852 the new Constitution was 
given out. The President of the Republic was named 
for ten years with an annual civil list of twelve mil- 
lions. In his hands were placed the supreme com- 
mand of the army and navy, the power to conclude 
treaties of peace, of alliance and of commerce. His 
power was practically unlimited; he was Emperor in 
all but name. 

The Prince-President neglected no occasion to 
show himself in public. A Sunday "des Grandes Eaux" 
he was acclaimed at Versailles. He appealed to the 
sympathies of the populace by frequent military 
parades and reviews. He was present at nearly all 
the premieres of the Opera and the Comedie-Fran- 
caise. He drove to Longchamps in an open carriage 
without escort. He even showed his courage and his 
confidence in the public by walking alone in the 
streets. 

But if Louis Napoleon was willing to bide his time 
before assuming the Imperial mantle, his family and 
friends were not so patient, least of all Prince Napo- 
leon, the son of King Jerome. From every side, from 
Murat, from Ney and from Persigny, came demands 
for titles, for honors, for grants of money. 

From the second of December Louis Napoleon be- 
gan to draw his monthly allowance of a million francs, 
and was able to put his financial affairs in order and 
pay off his old debts. Other claims were also liquidated 

C1423 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

at the same time. His old friend, Miss Howard, was 
given the title of Comtesse de Beauregard, with a 
very handsome revenue. But the "chaine anglaise" 
was not easily broken, and their relations continued 
until a short time before his marriage. 

The national tranquillity was never greater than 
during the last year of the Second Republic. The 
President certainly had the public confidence and 
sympathy. He was therefore in no haste to take the 
final step of proclaiming the Empire. His thought 
seemed to be not to shock the susceptibilities of the 
people by appearing to be too eager to assume the 
sovereign power, and to accustom the nation gradu- 
ally to the change. Already the eagles had been 
placed upon the flags, and his head was engraved 
upon the coins of the Republic ; but he requested the 
municipal authorities, during his Presidential trips 
through the country, not to receive him with Imperial 
honors. 

Secret petitions were circulated, begging him to 
restore the Imperial regime. Delegations called upon 
him to urge him to accede to the popular desire. So 
much discretion and procrastination drove his family 
almost mad, and they were loud in their reproaches. 
' Finally he decided that the moment had come. 
On his return from the famous visit to Bordeaux, 
where he had been received with great enthusiasm, 
he said that he was forced to recognize the fact that 
France desired the Empire. As a matter of duty, he 
consulted the Senate, which stated in its report that 
"the Imperial monarchy has all the advantages of 
the Republic without any of its dangers." 

ni43 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

On the 21 November 1852 the people of France 
voted on the proposition of reestabhshing the Im- 
perial dignity and of proclaiming Louis Napoleon 
Bonaparte Emperor under the name of Napoleon the 
Third. Nearly eight million Frenchmen voted "y^s" 
and only a quarter of a million "no". On the second of 
December 1852, the anniversary of the coronation of 
the Great Emperor, Napoleon the Third was pro- 
claimed Emperor of the French. The Second Empire 
was established. 

In the brief period of four years Louis Napoleon 
had mounted from the position of an obscure and 
almost unknown Deputy to the Imperial throne of 
France. He had seen the complete realization of the 
most fantastic dream ever conceived by the mind of 
man. 

"Though unfortunate in the circumstances con- 
nected with the coup d'etat," says Hassall, "the 
Second Empire owed its origin to the disunion exist- 
ing among the monarchists, the republicans, and the 
democrats. This disunion was certain to lead to 
anarchy, and the nation was justified in giving itself 
a dictator. Its choice of Louis Napoleon was due to 
the extraordinary development of the Napoleonic 
legend, the strength of which lay in the undoubted 
fact that Napoleon the First had reconstructed French 
society on a permanent basis and had saved France 
from a complete return to chaos and barbarism." 

The revival of the legend was due to such writers 
as Beranger and Thiers. The ballads of the former 
became immensely popular, and **the little corporal 
with his gray military coat" became a well-known 

C144] 




EUGENIE 



PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 

saying; while the histories of Thiers caused the name 
of Napoleon to become so endeared to the masses 
that the first use the peasants made of the grant of 
universal suffrage was to elect Louis Napoleon dic- 
tator. For the establishment of the Second Empire 
Thiers was as responsible as any one man. 

When the question of the revival of the Imperial 
dignity in the person of Louis Napoleon came up in 
the Senate, one member, and one only, voted against 
it. This negative vote was cast by the Prince's former 
tutor, and life-long friend and adviser. Monsieur 
Vieillard. The next day Vieillard wrote the Prince to 
the effect that he feared his act, which had been 
dictated by his conscience, might sever their friendly 
relations. He received the following reply: 

"Mon cher Monsieur Vieillard: 

"Comment pouvez-vous croire que votre vote 
puisse nuire en quoi que ce soit a la vieille amitie que 
je vous porte? Venez dejeuner jeudi a onze heures 
comme a Tordinaire, et le nouveau titre que je re- 
cevrai de la nation ne changera pas plus nos habitudes 
que mes sentiments pour vous. Rece vez-en I'assurance. 
Votre ami, 

" Louis-Napoleon 
"Saint-Cloud, 9 novembre." 



ZhsI 



CHAPTER TEN 

1853 

EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

First Year of the Empire — Napoleon the Third and the Great 
Powers — Lord Cowley's Anecdote — Final Recognition 
of His Title — The Question of the Succession — Matri- 
monial Ventures of Louis Napoleon — Eugenie de Montijo 
— The Imperial Marriage — The Bonapartes Return — 
Splendor of the Court — Character of Napoleon — The 
Napoleonic Ideas — Political Institutions of the Empire — 
The Emperor's Policy 

SINCE the day in 1832, when the death of the 
Duke of Reichstadt, Napoleon the Second, 
had made him the head of his party, the only 
thought of Louis Napoleon had been to become Em- 
peror of the French. Now after twenty years of wait- 
ing his great desire was accomplished. 

For many years all the world had ridiculed and 
derided him. Lord Malmesbury in his Memoirs tells 
us of how even his mother, the Duchesse de Saint-Leu, 
laughed with her guests at Arenenberg, over his dream, 
although at the bottom of her heart she believed in 
him and encouraged his aspirations, which she did 
not find so chimerical. His final success had surprised 
everybody, even those in the best position to form a 
careful opinion on the subject. Thiers had said of 
him: "He comprehends and understands nothing; 
a regular block-head." Victor Hugo, on the other 

1:1463 



EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

hand, said in 1848, on the eve of the presidential elec- 
tion: "The name of Napoleon Bonaparte means 
order, force and glory." A little later, the day of the 
election, he also said: "There is one name which sums 
up all the memories of the past, all the hopes of the 
future ; it is the name of Napoleon, of the man most 
beloved by the people." At a later day, when disap- 
pointed in his personal ambitions, he called him 
"Napoleon the Little." 

. Tranquil and disdainful, Louis Napoleon went his 
way, without being disturbed for a moment by these 
contradictory judgments. Friends and enemies alike 
were surprised by the rapidity with which one event 
followed another: the dissolution of the Assembly, the 
reestablishment of universal suffrage, the declaration 
of martial law at Paris. 

The Empire was reestablished, the dream of Louis 
Napoleon had become a reality. Paris was never more 
tranquil. The Prussian Ambassador at this time wrote 
in his memoirs: "Luxury and comfort have reap- 
peared as if by enchantment. The eve of the coup 
d'etat France was full of fear; the eve of the Empire, 
she is full of confidence." 

The Emperor had only one regret, that his mother 
had not lived to see his dream realized. He called to 
mind the gloomy days of their exile in Switzerland, 
the despair of their flight from Italy, after the death 
of his brother, the days of exile and imprisonment. 
As he looked around the salons of the Tuileries, and 
his eyes rested on the Imperial insignia, the past 
seemed like a hideous nightmare. With all the palaces 
of France at his disposal, with a civil list of twenty- 

1:1473 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

five million francs, he could not but smile at the 
remembrance of his miserable lodging at Ham, and 
the petty loan of the crazy Duke of Brunswick which 
defrayed the expenses of his escape and flight to 
London. 

To crown his ambition there now remained only 
the question of his recognition by the Great Powers 
of Europe. So far as France was concerned, his vic- 
tory was assured, although won by means open to 
much question. But beyond the frontiers the name of 
Napoleon still carried with it the idea of war and 
conquest. At the public banquet at Bordeaux in 
October, on the eve of the proclamation of the Em- 
pire, he had uttered the memorable words : " L' Empire, 
c*est la paix." Could he convince the foreign Courts 
that the Empire no longer meant war ? 

From the first, the London journals manifested 
their hostility, and English public men their sus- 
picions of his sincerity. Would not the Nephew seize 
the first opportune occasion to avenge the Uncle? 
Immediate steps were taken to reorganize the 
national defences, which had been much neglected 
since the close of the Napoleonic wars nearly forty 
years before. There was a regular state of panic in 
London, only surpassed during the gloomy days of 
1805 when Napoleon was awaiting at Boulogne a 
favorable moment for throwing his army across the 
channel. But little by little these fears disappeared. 
Reports were received from France that there had 
never been so few signs of military activity. For his 
part the Emperor Napoleon was prodigal in his as- 
surances of friendship, and of gratitude for the 

1:1483 



EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

generous hospitality shown him in London during his 
many years of residence there. He only asked of the 
Foreign Office a recognition of his title of Napoleon 
the Third, with the principle of heredity, past and 
future, which that designation carried with it. But 
just here was the rub, as Hamlet said. The Govern- 
ment could not see its way clear to recognize Napo- 
leon the Third when they had never known officially 
a Napoleon the Second. Napoleon had twice abdi- 
cated the throne in favor of his son the King of Rome, 
but none of the Great Powers had ever in any way 
accepted this abdication. The opposition to the 
numeral "three" was as great in Berlin and Vienna 
as it was in London. 

In this connection an interesting, if not strictly 
authentic anecdote is told, on the authority of Lord 
Cowley, the English Ambassador at Paris. During 
the last visit of the Prince- President to the provinces, 
the Prefect of the city of Bourges had issued orders 
that the Prince should be received with cries of "Vive 
Napoleon! ! V and the printer of the proclamation 
had taken these three exclamation points for the 
Roman numeral HL When the President heard the 
cries of "Vive Napoleon Trois!" he asked an explana- 
tion, and having received it, remarked with a smile: 
"I did not know that I had a Prefect so machiavel- 
lian." 

After the exchange of many diplomatic notes, after 
many calls by the French Ambassador, Comte 
Walewski, at the Foreign Office, the English Govern- 
ment, weary of the whole matter, finally abandoned 
its opposition. But the Emperors Nicholas of Russia 

II1493 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

and Francis Joseph of Austria had more difficulty in 
coming to an understanding with their "frere/' 
Napoleon. The Czar nevertheless had no great love 
for the Bourbons, and shared the warm admiration 
of his brother Alexander for their great enemy Napo- 
leon. In his case there were also quite close family 
ties, his daughter the Grand Duchess Marie having 
married the son of Prince Eugene, brother of Queen 
Hortense, and therefore a first cousin of Napoleon. 
But it was important that the matter be decided. 
Prussia was the first to yield, and Austria soon fol- 
lowed. The Czar finally modified his objections, to the 
point of addressing the new sovereign of France as 
"Sire et bon ami" in place of the usual "Monsieur 
mon frere." All the small European States naturally 
followed the example of the "big four." So this rather 
ridiculous matter was finally settled. 

Europe was now reassured as to the policy of the 
Empire; France was quiet, and the future seemed 
free from clouds. It was time to think of a successor 
to the Imperial throne. This was a matter which had 
given the First Napoleon much anxiety, and his mar- 
riage with Marie-Louise had been the indirect cause 
of all of his later troubles and his final downfall. His 
nephew was not destined to be any more happy in 
his choice of a spouse, and the later misfortunes of 
the Second Empire can be traced directly to the per- 
nicious influence of the Empress upon Napoleon's 
policy and acts. 

On all sides. Napoleon was urged to choose a wife. 
The idea was not a new one to him, for on several 
previous occasions he had seriously considered it. His 



EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

elder brother, at an early age, had married his cousin, 
the daughter of King Joseph, and Louis Napoleon 
had thought of following his example, and had asked 
the advice of his father on the subject at the time he 
was still living at Arenenberg. At a later day, when 
residing in England, after his escape from Ham, a 
marriage had nearly been arranged with Miss Bowles, 
but was broken off on account of his relations with the 
notorious Miss Howard. At another period there had 
been quite a romantic attachment between the 
Prince and his cousin Mathilde, the daughter of King 
Jerome. This Was ended by the affair of Strasbourg 
and his long absence in America. At still another date 
he had thought seriously of marrying his cousin the 
Princesse Marie of Baden, the future Duchess of 
Hamilton, for whom he always showed great affec- 
tion. But her mother, the Grand Duchess Stephanie, 
had higher aspirations for her daughter than a mar- 
riage with her visionary cousin Louis Napoleon. 

It was certainly a strange freak of fortune that this 
man who was destined to reign over a rich and power- 
ful nation, to appear, when at the height of his 
glory, to be the arbiter of a continent, should have 
met with nothing but rebuffs in his matrimonial 
plans. 

As Emperor, his success was no greater. The reign- 
ing families of Europe, although they had been 
constrained to recognize him as a "brother," were 
unanimous in declining him as a son-in-law. 

Disappointed in all of his hopes of a royal marriage, 
the Emperor made a virtue of necessity and an- 
nounced his intention of selecting himself the wife of 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

his choice. Every one about the Court knew in ad- 
vance who was to be chosen. Even before the coup 
d'etat, every one had noticed, at all the Presidential 
fetes, his marked attention to a beautiful stranger. 
Although not of royal blood, Eugenie de Montijo was 
beautiful enough to turn the head of an emperor. 
She was the daughter of the Count of Teba, subse- 
quently Count of Montijo and grandee of Spain, and 
was born at Granada on the 5 May 1826, the date of 
the death of Napoleon at Saint Helena five years 
before. She was therefore eighteen years younger 
than her future husband. Her mother was a daughter 
of William Kirkpatrick, United States Consul at 
Malaga, a Scotsman by birth and an American by 
nationality. Her childhood was spent in Madrid, 
but after she was eight years old she lived with her 
mother and sister in Paris, where she was educated 
in the convent of the Sacre Cceur. 

She had appeared frequently at the balls given by 
the Prince- President at the Elysee, where she first 
met her future husband. In November 1852, mother 
and daughter were invited to Fontainebleau, and in 
the numerous hunting parties, the beautiful young 
Spaniard, who showed herself an expert horsewoman, 
was greatly admired by her host. The following month 
she was present at a series of fetes given at Compiegne 
after the proclamation of the Empire, and Napoleon 
became more and more fascinated. Early in January 
he made a formal proposal of marriage. The engage- 
ment was announced on the 22 January in a speech 
from the throne in which the Emperor said: "I have 
preferred a woman whom I love and respect, to a 



EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

woman unknown to me, with whom an alHance would 
have had advantages mixed with sacrifices." 

Seven days later the civil marriage was celebrated 
at the Tuileries, with imposing majesty, and all the 
traditional forms of the ancien regime ; and the day 
following the religious ceremony was performed at 
Notre Dame with unparalleled magnificence. 

The reestablishment of the Empire had brought 
back to Paris all of the members of the Bonaparte 
family who had not previously returned during the 
days of the Presidency. Now that they were once 
more reunited, every one noticed the strong family 
resemblance which nearly all bore to the Great Em- 
peror, whose face was so familiar from the paintings 
of scenes of the First Empire. This was most marked 
in the case of Prince Napoleon and the Princesse 
Mathilde, and in the Comte Walewski, the son of 
Napoleon. Of all the family, the one who least re- 
sembled the First Emperor was his successor on the 
throne. 

The Imperial Court was established on a scale of 
the greatest splendor. The Tuileries were put in a 
state of comfort and elegance unknown before. The 
stables were filled with superb horses, and the state 
carriages excited admiration wherever seen. Amidst 
all of this splendor of the new Empire, the man the 
most unconcerned, the most indifferent, was the Em- 
peror, who appeared to have been accustomed to 
this scale of living all his life. 

As had been the case under the First Empire, little 
by little the old aristocracy surrendered its preju- 
dices and forgot its animosities and appeared at the 

1:1533 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

fetes of the Tuileries. If the French army, as was 
found at a later date, was not as well armed and 
equipped as it should have been, no fault could be 
found with the appearance of the picked troops who 
took part in the frequent parades at the capital. The 
brilliancy of the uniforms aroused the enthusiasm 
of the people, and enhanced in their eyes the grandeur 
of the Empire. 

"The President, who by the endless witchery of a 
name, by a profitable absence of scruples, and by 
favorable circumstances, had known how to become 
an Emperor," says Hazen, "was a man of ideas as 
well as of audacity, of generosity as well as egoism, 
of humanitarian aspirations for the betterment of 
the world, as well as of a vivid perception of the 
pleasures of personal advancement. His ideas, ex- 
pounded gracefully in writings and in speeches, were 
largely derived from a study of the life of the Great 
Napoleon." 

In a book called "Napoleonic Ideas," published 
during the period of his last residence in London, 
Louis Napoleon has given us an appraisal of the his- 
torical significance of the First Emperor. The funda- 
mental idea of this work was that Napoleon had two 
purposes in view throughout his career. The first was 
the preservation of all that was valuable in the Revo- 
lution, the foundation of Society and the State upon 
a solid and enduring basis, which in his opinion could 
only be accomplished by the exercise of absolute 
power on the part of the ruler. This great end having 
been attained, through the preliminary period of 
training under an active and intelligent autocrat, 

[154 3 



EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

France would then be fitted to enter upon the life of 
freedom, the goal which he had always in view, and 
he could then carry out his second purpose, which 
was to put an end to this preliminary and proba- 
tionary period of absolute rule, and give to the edifice 
the "crown of liberty" which it would be unsafe 
earlier to bestow. 

That the latter part of his program, the granting 
of free institutions to France, was never carried out 
by the First Napoleon, was not his fault, but that of 
the re-actionary nations of Europe who continually 
made war upon him, and by his final defeat at Water- 
loo forever put an end to his plans. 

Whether or not we agree with this analysis of 
Napoleon's ideas, it is of importance in that it throws 
a bright side-light upon the underlying policy of 
Napoleon the Third and explains to a great extent 
his policy as Emperor. It was his desire to finish the 
work which his uncle had been forced to leave incom- 
plete, to restore law and order in France through the 
exercise of autocratic powers, and then to crown the 
finished structure with the cap of liberty, and this in 
brief is the history of the Second Empire — eight 
years of despotism, followed by the ten years of the 
"Empire liberal," with his program also unfulfilled 
when the catastrophe of Sedan occurred. 

The political institutions of the early years of the 
Empire, adopted mainly from the Consulate, merit 
a word of description. There was a Legislative Body 
of 251 members elected every six years by universal 
suffrage, which was made the basis of the whole 
Imperial regime. But the role of this assembly was 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

modest in the extreme. It was not a real parliament 
such as had existed under the Restoration and the 
July Monarchy. It could not propose laws; all bills 
were laid before it by the Emperor. It could not even 
elect its own presiding officer ; he was appointed by the 
Emperor. It did not even possess the power of taxa- 
tion. 

There was also a Senate, composed of high officials 
of the army, the navy, the church, and others, all 
appointed by the Emperor. This body too had no 
power of any kind, and was the mere tool of the 
sovereign. 

There was also a Council of State, appointed by the 
Emperor, whose function was to frame the laws to be 
submitted to the Legislative Body. 

At the head of the State stood the Emperor with 
practically despotic powers. He could say as truly as 
Louis the Fourteenth, "L'etat, c'est moi." During 
the first eight years of the Empire parliamentary 
institutions were a form rather than a reality. 

Although there was nominally universal suffrage, 
the elections were controlled by the Government, 
which named an official candidate in every district 
and usually succeeded in electing him. 

The press was so thoroughly shackled that prac- 
tically only government organs could exist. No new 
journals could be started without the permission of 
the Government. There could be no reports of the 
proceedings of the Legislative Body other than the 
dry summary prepared by the presiding officer. Under 
this system, political independence was completely 
extinguished. To all intents and purposes France 



EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH 

was living under a despotism as autocratic as that of 
the Czar of All the Russias. 

In return for all this the Emperor sought to enter- 
tain and enrich France, in which effort he met with 
marked success. If the country was not free, it was 
rich and prosperous, and generally contented. 

But pleasure did not engross the entire attention 
of the monarch. His reign was distinguished by a 
spirit of great enterprise ; of good works, of benefit to 
many classes of society. The Emperor was anxious 
that his reign should be memorable for works of 
utility and improvement. He had a genuine love of 
humanity, a kindly feeling for the masses, and a 
desire to better their condition. He founded many 
hospitals and asylums, and societies for the relief of 
the poor. Free distribution of medicine was provided 
for. The railroads, denounced by Thiers as "the 
costly luxury of the rich," tripled their mileage in a 
few years. Canals were built, and steamship lines 
established to facilitate ocean transportation. No 
class of the population was ignored in these schemes. 
The Empire, he said, stood for the whole nation. In 
Napoleon's opinion the two preceding Governments 
had failed chiefly because they favored the classes 
instead of the masses — the Bourbons, the aristoc- 
lacy, and the Orleanists, the rich middle classes. 



CIS?: 



CHAPTER ELEVEN 

1854-1855 

THE CRIMEAN WAR 

Prosperity of the Empire — Obligations of a Warlike Heritage 

— The Famous Speech at Bordeaux — Causes of the 
Russian War — The Sick Man of Europe — The Holy 
Places — Russia Invades the Danubean Principalities — 
The Anglo-French Alliance — First Year of the War — 
Battles in the Crimea — Siege and Fall of Sebastopol — 
Treaty of Paris — Results of the War — Visit to England 

— Birth of the Prince Imperial — Royal Visitors to Paris — 
The Exhibition of 1855 — Visit of Queen Victoria 

TIE first year of the Empire was one of un- 
precedented prosperity. In the abundance of 
work, and the general increase in wages, the 
working classes were resigned to the thought that 
they were no longer free to revolt at pleasure, and 
tear up the streets for barricades. The great middle- 
class, the bourgeoisie, was satisfied with its large 
profits and the great increase in well-being. The 
members of the old aristocracy, born-enemies of the 
Revolution and the Empire, yielded by degrees to 
the attractions of the brilliant Court of the Tuileries. 
Literature and the Arts took on a new Hfe. The 
theatres were prosperous, and the opera crowded. 

The dawn of the Imperial regime seemed to have 
ushered in an era of "peace on earth, good-will to 
men." Humane and generous by nature, anxious that 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

his reign should be remembered as a period of uni- 
versal prosperity, Napoleon could not forget, how- 
ever, that he was the successor of the great man whose 
victories had brought undying glory to France, and 
that his heritage carried with it the obligation, not 
only to conserve, but also to increase, the prestige of 
the powerful nation over which he reigned. With all 
his generous impulses in favor of humanity and civi- 
lization, there were moments when he carefully studied 
the map of Europe, and dreamed of wars and con- 
quests. The benefits of a reign marked by peace and 
prosperity appealed to him as the noblest aim of a 
great monarch, but at the same time his imagination 
was captivated by the thought of military glory, and 
European supremacy. As Emperor of the French he 
felt that he must wage war, and events pointed to 
Russia as the predestined foe. A contributory motive, 
which without doubt influenced his decision, was the 
position taken by the Czar in the matter of the recog- 
nition of his title. He also felt that it would be good 
politics to divert the minds of the French people, by 
the clash of arms, from the thoughts of their lost 
liberties. But the crowning motive of all was the de- 
sire to make an alliance with one of the great Powers, 
which would restore to his Government the con- 
sideration which it had lost in the eyes of Europe 
through the dubious methods by which he had ar- 
rived at sovereign power. Autant de raisons, autant 
de pretextes. 

Thus far Napoleon's policy had been controlled by 
a very clear perception of what was best for France. 
Now it was to change decidedly for the worse, to 

nis93 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

become at the same time bolder and more uncertain, 
to create a general sense of insecurity both at home 
and abroad. 

In the famous speech at Bordeaux in October 1852, 
just prior to the proclamation of the Empire, Napo- 
leon had endeavored to reassure France and also 
Europe on this subject. He then said: "There is a 
fear to which I ought to reply. In a spirit of distrust 
people say: the Empire is war. But I say: the Empire 
is peace." Nevertheless, as Emperor, he failed to ad- 
here to this wise policy. His reign was marked by 
frequent wars, disastrous alike to France and to his 
dynasty, wars which could easily have been avoided, 
and which were begun, with the exception of the last 
and most fatal of all, upon pretexts rather than 
reasons of political necessity. 

To understand the Crimean War, which brought 
much misery to France, and only a little fictitious 
glory, it is necessary to outline briefly the causes 
which led up to it. 

Early in 1853, the Czar Nicholas, in a note to 
the English Government, stated that the collapse of 
the Turkish Empire was imminent. He spoke of the 
Sultan as a "sick man," an expression which became 
historic, and proposed that England and Russia 
should agree upon the division of his estate. Dis- 
claiming for himself any idea of taking Constanti- 
nople, he suggested that the provinces of Turkey in 
Europe should be made independent states, presum- 
ably under the control of Russia, while England 
should take Egypt and the island of Crete, thus 
safeguarding her route to India. Nothing came of 





LA PRINCESSE MATHILDE 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

this proposal, as the EngHsh Government refused to 
consider it. 

For some time before this, there had been a quarrel 
going on between Turkey and Russia and France, 
regarding the control of the so-called " Holy Places '* 
in Palestine, the spots identified with the life and 
death of Christ. This dispute was finally settled by 
negotiations, but the Czar immediately afterwards 
made a demand upon the Sultan that he should put 
under the protection of Russia all Greek Christians 
living in the Turkish Empire, of whom there were 
several millions. Under advice of the English and 
French Governments, to which this demand was sub- 
mitted, the Sultan declined to comply. His refusal 
was immediately followed, in June 1853, by a Russian 
invasion of the Turkish provinces of Wallachia and 
Moldavia, which now make up the Kingdom of 
Roumania. The demand of Turkey, that Russia with- 
draw her troops, was not heeded, and the two nations 
were at war. Russia thought that hostilities would 
be confined to these two powers, but in this the Czar 
was mistaken, for England and France, and later 
Piedmont, came to the assistance of Turkey, and 
Nicholas had four enemies to contend with instead 
of one. The first general European war since the days 
of Napoleon had commenced. 

England went into the war from a number of 
mixed motives. The country was tired of peace and 
both the political parties were in favor of war. It was 
the general belief that the continual expansion of 
Russia would sooner or later threaten the routes to 
India, and that the time had come to check it. 

C 161 2 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

England and France had joined in the demand that 
the Russian armies retire from the Principahties, and 
on the refusal of the Czar to do so, on the 27 March 
1854, both countries declared war. The French and 
English armies joined the Turks, who had been 
fighting the Russians on the Danube. After a short 
campaign the Russians were driven across the river, 
and by July were out of the Principalities. England 
and France had now gained the object for which they 
had entered the war, but they had ulterior purposes 
in view, so the conflict went on. They desired to defeat 
Russia decisively, so as to prevent her from further- 
expansion in southeastern Europe. In September 
1854, they therefore invaded the Crimea, a penin- 
sula in southern Russia extending out into the Black 
Sea. The object of the campaign was to capture 
Sebastopol, a strong Russian naval station, and de- 
stroy the Russian fleet which had its base there, and 
so cripple the naval power of the nation for many 
years to come. 

At the Alma, a river about twenty miles north of 
Sebastopol, on the 20 September 1854, the Allied 
army defeated the Russians. On the 25 October there 
was an engagement between the Russians and the 
Allies at Balaklava, a small seaport about eight miles 
southeast of Sebastopol. Through a misconception 
of Lord Raglan's orders, the Light Brigade under 
Lord Cardigan was ordered to charge the Russian 
artillery at the extremity of the valley. With a bat- 
tery in front and one on each side, the Light Brigade 
hewed its way past the guns and routed the enemy's 
cavalry. This charge was the inspiration of the well- 

C1623 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

known poem by Tennyson. In a severe battle at 
Inkerman, near Sebastopol, the French and English 
severely defeated the Russians on the fifth of No- 
vember, with heavy losses on both sides. 

The chief feature of the war, however, was the siege 
of Sebastopol, which lasted for eleven months. After 
a heavy bombardment, the place finally surrendered 
the 8 September 1855. 

The Crimean War was marked by the fearful suf- 
fering of the troops from the intense cold, and the 
general inefficiency of both the commissary and medi- 
cal departments. These deficiencies were remedied 
before the end of the war, but only after a deplorable 
loss of life. 

The fall of Sebastopol, after one of the longest and 
most terrible sieges in history, had been followed by 
a feeling of lassitude in both armies. Although the 
war dragged on for several weeks longer, all parties 
were now anxious for peace. In spite of the warlike 
attitude of the English Minister, Lord Palmerston, 
it was agreed to submit all the questions in dispute to 
a Congress to meet in Paris the last of February 1856. 

Nicholas, the Czar of Russia who began the war, 
had died the second of March 1855, bitterly disap- 
pointed over the failure of his plans. He had been 
succeeded by his son, Alexander the Second, a man 
of very different character, who was sincerely desirous 
of improving the conditions of Russian life. After a 
month's deliberations, the Treaty of Paris was signed 
the 30 March 1856. So ended a needless war which 
had sacrificed several hundred thousand lives and 
resulted in no enduring advantages to the Allies. As a 

ni63 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

solution of the Eastern Question the war was a com- 
plete failure. The French Emperor gained some 
military glory and diplomatic prestige, and the King 
of Piedmont earned the gratitude of Napoleon, who 
a few years later materially aided him in his Italian 
policy. 

In the importance of the negotiations, and In the 
brilliancy of the receptions by day and of balls at 
night, the famous Congress of Paris In 1856 recalled 
the equally celebrated gathering at Vienna In the 
winter of 1815, which was so rudely Interrupted by 
the unexpected return of Napoleon from Elba. The 
business meetings were held only every other day. 
Every evening there was a state dinner followed by 
a ball. Comte WalewskI, the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, gave a celebrated dinner, at which he pro- 
posed a toast to the durability of the peace. "It will 
be lasting," he said, "because it Is honorable for 
everybody." 

Two days after the signing of the Treaty, on the 
first of April 1856, the Emperor ordered a grand re- 
view, on the Champ-de-Mars, of his army which had 
covered itself with glory. That day his usually im- 
passible countenance was glowing with an expression 
of joy and pride. The delegates to the Congress showed 
by their presence the high regard In which the Em- 
peror was held both by his Allies and his late enemies. 
It was one of the red-letter days In the life of Napo- 
leon the Third. 

During the month of April of the year 1855, while 
the siege of Sebastopol still drew out its seemingly 
interminable length. Napoleon had the desire to visit 

1:1643 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

as a sovereign the places associated with his hfe in 
exile. Before opening the Exposition at Paris, ac- 
companied by the Empress, he crossed the Channel 
to pay a visit to England and draw tighter the ties 
of friendship existing between the two great nations 
which for the first time in their long history were 
fighting as allies and not as enemies. 

Credit has generally been given to Edward the 
Seventh for bringing about the Anglo-French entente, 
but its real author was the Emperor Napoleon the 
Third. The Imperial visitors had an enthusiastic re- 
ception in the city of London and at Windsor Palace. 
Queen Victoria herself attached to the knee of the 
Emperor the great English decoration of the Order 
of the Garter, and placed the collar around his neck 
and gave him the accolade. At the Guildhall he was 
formally presented by the Lord Mayor with the Free- 
dom of the City of London. Wherever he appeared 
in public he received a popular ovation. The Queen 
herself spoke of the remarkable vicissitudes of fortune 
which had raised to the rank of one of the most 
powerful monarchs of Europe the former English 
exile who seemed then to have so little future before 
him. In her journal she wrote : 

"Is it not extraordinary that I, the grand-daughter 
of George the Third, should dance in 'Waterloo 
Room' with the Emperor Napoleon, nephew of the 
greatest enemy of my country, to-day my close ally, 
and who eight years ago lived In this country an 
unknown exile." 

In truth what a striking example of the changes of 
fortune ! 

: i6s 1 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

In France, in spite of the war, and the shortage of 
provisions, the direct taxes, the most certain indica- 
tion of pubHc wealth, each year produced a revenue 
in excess of the most optimistic expectations. The 
credit of France had never stood so high. The Em- 
peror never saw days so flourishing as those of the last 
year of the Crimean War. 

The first two years of the Empire had been marked 
by sore, although temporary calamities, while during 
the year 1855 terrible inundations 'had devastated 
the country districts, and the long and expensive and 
bloody war had afflicted humanity. 

In the spring of 1856, only the memory of this 
period of sadness remained. The month of March 
had been marked by two important events in the 
annals of the Empire, the birth on the sixteenth of 
an heir to the throne, the Prince Imperial, and the 
conclusion of the Treaty of Paris on the thirtieth — 
events which at the time seemed to hold the promise, 
unfortunately never realized, of great hopes for the 
destiny of the Empire. 

Not a cloud obscured the bright sky of the national 
life. Peace had brought its boon to the continent. 
Napoleon, more ambitious for glory, or for its sem- 
blance, than for assured and permanent benefits, 
was for the moment triumphant. The principal object 
of the Crimean War, the neutralization of the Black 
Sea, had been attained. He could not foresee that only 
fourteen years later, during the Franco- Prussian war, 
when Europe was powerless to prevent, Russia would 
seize the opportunity to abrogate this provision of the 
Treaty of Paris. No tangible or enduring profit, either 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

for France or his dynasty had been gained by so great 
an expenditure of Hfe and money. But for the moment 
France was the arbiter of Europe. This theatrical 
result satisfied him; he asked for nothing more. 

But a fortnight before the conclusion of the Treaty, 
the Emperor had experienced a joy more personal 
and more complete. The birth of an heir to the throne 
was expected during the month of March. Every day 
there was a crowd of visitors at the Hotel de Ville to 
admire the silver cradle to be presented to the Im- 
perial child by the City of Paris. 

The first news came in the midst of a dinner given 
to the Ambassadors by Baroche the President of the 
Council of State on the evening of the 15 March. 

Suddenly an officer entered and summoned the host 
to repair at once to the Tuileries where the birth of a 
child was momentarily expected. The Emperor was 
in a state of indescribable nervousness. Finally, how- 
ever, his agony was turned to transports of joy. At 
three o'clock in the morning the infant so much de- 
sired came into the world. Every one was delighted 
except Prince Napoleon, the son of King Jerome, who 
until that moment had been the heir-presumptive of 
the Imperial throne. He could not conceal his jealous 
rage. For several hours he refused to sign, as first 
Prince of the blood, the birth certificate of Louis- 
Eugene-Napoleon. Finally he was brought to reason 
by his sister Mathilde who said: "Of what use is your 
refusal to sign. The evidence will not be less than it is. 
The bad blood which you are showing will only injure 
yourself." He took the pen with a gesture of rage and 
signed. 

1:1673 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The city had not yet been notified of the joyous 
event. Finally at seven o'clock in the morning was 
heard the first discharge of artillery announcing the 
great news. The old officer at the Invalides, who 
commanded the squad of artillery men, had filled the 
same place at the birth of the King of Rome, the Due 
de Bordeaux, the Comte de Paris, and now of the 
Prince Imperial — four heirs to the throne of France, 
none of whom was ever destined to reign. As usual, 
the birth of a daughter would be announced by 
twenty-one reports, of a son by one hundred. After 
the twenty-first discharge, there was a slight pause, 
in order to accentuate the effect, and then followed 
the twenty-second and so on up to the final report. 
But the populace had ceased to count, and universal 
joy was expressed. 

By a coincidence of dates, the Prince Imperial was 
born on the same day of the month of March that the 
Allies during the Campaign of France in 1814 re- 
fused the final peace proposals submitted by the 
Emperor Napoleon to the Congress of Chatillon. 
The ministers meet on 16 March and unanimously 
rejected the plan. So ended the last hope of pre- 
serving the Imperial crown. Two weeks later Paris 
opened its gates to the Allied troops, and that city 
for the first time yielded to the bitter experience 
which the generals of the Revolution and the Empire 
had so often imposed on foreign capitals. Now the 
wheel of fortune had turned, and the victors of 18 14 
received peace at the hands of another Napoleon, 
who had become their host and their ally. For France 
and her Emperor the revenge was complete. 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

The 14 June 1856 the Prince Imperial was christ- 
ened at Notre Dame with a pomp and ceremony 
before unknown. It was a hohday in Paris, and the re- 
joicing among the people was not less than in official 
and court circles. The conspirator of the coup d'etat 
might well feel that he had arrived at the summit of 
human felicity. 

"Forty years later," says Loliee, "an adherent of 
the Orleans family, and consequently an adversary 
whom one could not accuse of complaisance towards 
the Imperial regime, recalled to me in conversation 
his impression of those days — of admiration mingled 
with fear, of admiration for the beauty of the spec- 
tacle, and of fear for Its fragility." 

In the midst of these appearances of strength and 
security, only a few clairvoyant spectators, like the 
Due d*Aumale, had a presentiment that the catastro- 
phes of war would one day ruin this magnificent 
Imperial structure. 

But few then thought that this first war of the 
Second Empire would lead to another, and this again 
to a third which was to bring In its train untold dis- 
aster and ruin. 

France was rich, happy and respected. Foreign 
princes repeated their visits to the Emperor, drawn 
by the attraction of a noble and cordial hospitality. 
Among others. In 1856, the Emperor received the 
visit of the Prince of Prussia, afterwards the first 
German Emperor. He was accompanied by Moltke, 
who was to become at a later day the Chief of the 
General Staff of Prussia. At the Tulleries and at 
Complegne, and In the highest circles of French 

1:169 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

society, the visitors were entertained with the greatest 
courtesy. 

This visit was followed by that of the Grand Duke 
Constantine, brother of the Czar, and High-Admiral 
of Russia. Yesterday he was the mortal enemy of 
France ; to-day he was the messenger of peace, desirous 
of bringing in person the assurances of complete 
reconciliation between the two nations. 

While the Crimean War was still being waged, the 
Emperor was happy to be able to turn to the prepa- 
rations which were being made in the Champs-Elysees 
for the "Universal Exhibition of the Arts of Peace," 
which had been put under the charge of his cousin 
Prince Napoleon. 

The Exhibition of 1855, which opened on the 15 
May, included the Fine Arts, and was admirably 
classified and arranged. Even Russia, with which 
France was still at war, had been invited to send 
exhibits. There were no less than twenty-five thousand 
exhibitors, and during the summer and autumn, Paris 
was crowded with visitors from all parts of the world. 

On the 18 June, Queen Victoria accompanied by 
the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and the 
Princess Royal, afterwards the Empress Frederick 
of Germany, arrived at Boulogne to visit the Exposi- 
tion. Napoleon himself had gone to Boulogne to meet 
the royal party. It was nearly two o'clock before the 
Queen's yacht was moored to the quay, and twilight 
when the special train reached Paris. 

The Queen has recorded her impressions of her 
"first sight of Paris." She speaks In her journal of the 
drive from the station by the Boulevard de Stras- 

C1703 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

bourg, the Emperor's creation, and along the inner 
boulevards by the Porte Saint-Denis, the Madeleine, 
the Place de la Concorde, up the Champs-Elysees, 
past the Arc de Triomphe, and through the Bois de 
Boulogne, to the Palace of Saint-Cloud. The Queen 
was delighted with the splendor and brilliancy of the 
scene. Within the Palace, she said that "everything 
was magnificent and all very quiet and royal." 

The next day began with a visit to the Exposition, 
through immense crowds of enthusiastic Parisians. 
Later the Emperor conducted his guests to the Sainte 
Chapelle and other sights of his capital. In crossing 
the Pont au Change he called the attention of the 
Queen to the Conciergerie and said "Voila ou j'etais 
en prison." "Strange contrast," writes the Queen, 
"to be driving with us as Emperor through the streets 
of the city in triumph." 

The good impression which the Emperor had 
created at Windsor was confirmed while he acted as 
host. The Queen said that no one could be kinder 
or more agreeable. 

A day was spent at Versailles, where the party had 
luncheon. An evening was given to a gala perform- 
ance at the Opera. A visit was also made to the pri- 
vate apartments in the Tuileries, where, on the day 
of the State ball at the Hotel de Ville, a "cosy little 
dinner" was given by the Emperor. "The Emperor 
was in high spirits, and we talked most cheerfully 
together," remarks Queen Victoria; and she then goes 
on to tell how she stood In the window with the Em- 
peror and Prince Albert, and talked of old times, 
while looking out on the Gardens and listening to the 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

music, and how extraordinary it was that they should 
be there together in the old Chateau of the Tuileries, 
so full of historical memories. 

Another day, on the Champ-de-Mars, there was 
an imposing review of 40,000 troops. Afterwards, in 
the dusk of the evening they visited the Tomb of 
Napoleon in the Invalides. Here by the light of 
torches borne by some of the Old Guard, the Emperor 
led Queen Victoria into the chapel where the Con- 
queror still lay, with the sword of Austerlitz upon his 
coffin, which had not yet been placed in the magnif- 
icent mausoleum which was then in course of con- 
struction. 

"There I stood," the Queen remarks in her Diary, 
" at the arm of Napoleon the Third, his nephew, be- 
fore the coffin of England's bitterest foe; I, the 
grand-daughter of the King who hated him most, 
and who most vigorously opposed him, and this very 
nephew, who bears his name, being my nearest and 
dearest ally! The organ of the church was playing 
*God save the Queen,' at the time, and this solemn 
scene took place by torch-light and during a thunder- 
storm. It seemed as if in this tribute of respect to a 
departed and dead foe, old enmities and rivalries 
were wiped out, and the seal of Heaven placed on that 
bond of unity, which is now happily established be- 
tween two great and powerful nations. May Heaven 
bless and prosper it ! " 

The illustrious party went back to the Tuileries 
for another quiet dinner and thence to the Opera 
Comique. The Queen returned to Saint-Cloud for the 
night more delighted than ever with the Emperor. 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 

A State ball was given at Versailles, the imperial 
magnificence of which was the talk of Paris for many 
days. Among the few persons presented to the Queen 
on this occasion was the Prussian Minister at Frank- 
fort, Otto von Bismarck. 

The last day of their visit the Emperor drove the 
Queen through the park in his phaeton, and in the 
course of their drive they had a very frank conversa- 
tion, in which the Queen explained her relations 
with the exiled Orleans family, and the Emperor in 
turn gave his reasons for the confiscation of their 
property in France, an action for which he had been 
much attacked. This is all recorded in full in the 
Queen's Diary. 

The following day, in beautiful weather, the Royal 
visitors left for England. The Emperor conducted 
his guests to Boulogne and bade them au revoir on 
their yacht. 

The Queen, in her final impressions of her ten days' 
visit to Napoleon, during which they were thrown 
together constantly for many hours every day, pays 
a most graceful tribute to her host. She says : 

"It is extraordinary how very much attached one 
becomes to the Emperor. He is so quiet,^so simple, 
naif even, so gentle, so full of tact, dignity and 
modesty. His society is particularly agreeable and 
pleasant; there is something fascinating, melancholy 
and engaging, which draws you to him, in spite of any 
prevention you may have against him, and certainly 
without the assistance of any outward advantages of 
appearance, though I like his face. He undoubtedly 
has the most extraordinary power of attaching people 

C1733 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

to him! The children are very fond of him; to them 
also his kindness was very great, but, at the same 
time, most judicious." 

Certainly a very fine tribute from a noble woman 
to an extraordinary man ! 

On her return to Obsorne the Queen wrote a most 
cordial letter of thanks for the ten happy days passed 
as his guest, and signed herself with "tender friend- 
ship and affection" his "bonne et affectionee sceur 
et amie, Victoria." 

The Exposition was closed in November in the 
presence of an extraordinary assemblage of distin- 
guished persons, and afforded the Emperor one of 
those opportunities which he knew so well how to use, 
for making his sentiments and wishes known, not 
only to France but to all Europe. 



ni74 3 



CHAPTER TWELVE 

1859 

ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

Count Cavour — Piedmont in the Crimean War — The Con- 
gress of Paris — The Comtesse de Castiglione — The Orsini 
Conspiracy — The Pact of Plombieres — The Austrian 
Ultimatum — The Campaign in Lombardy — Victories 
of Magenta and Solferino — The Peace of Villafranca — 
Explanation of Napoleon's Action — Resignation of 
Cavour — Savoy and Nice Annexed to France 

IN his youth, Louis Napoleon had made two su- 
preme resolutions, the first that he would restore 
the Empire, the second that he would free Italy. 
The first part of his life's work had been accomplished ; 
the second remained still unfulfilled. Although the 
thought of Italian unity had never left his mind, he 
still hesitated for fear of foreign complications to 
commit his country to the ambitious plans of Cavour. 
Count Cavour was born at Turin on the first of 
August 1810. As a younger son he was destined for 
the Army. At the age of sixteen he graduated from the 
Military Academy at Turin at the head of his class. 
After serving five years in the engineers, he resigned 
his commission, and during the next few years de- 
voted himself to study and travel, frequently visiting 
London and Paris. He began at this time to dream of 
a united Italy, free from foreign influence, but was 
unable to take any active part in politics owing to the 
reactionary tendencies of the government. 

ni75a 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

In 1848 the revolutionary movement in Germany 
and France extended to Italy, where revolts broke 
out everywhere against the established order. The 
King in the month of March had been forced by public 
opinion to declare war against Austria, but the Pied- 
mont Army was no match for the veteran legions of 
Austria, and an armistice was concluded in the 
summer. When hostilities were resumed the next 
winter, the Piedmontese were totally defeated at 
No vara 23 March 1849 and the King, Charles Albert, 
abdicated in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel. In 
the July elections Cavour was returned to Parliament, 
where he soon gained a dominating influence. On the 
fourth of November he became Prime Minister, a 
position which he held with the exception of two 
short intervals until his death in 1861. 

Then followed the Crimean War, in which Cavour 
first showed his extraordinary political insight and 
diplomatic genius. His preparations for the war of 
Italian Independence were begun as early as 1854. 
In January of that year he broached the subject to 
the King with the tentative inquiry: "Does it not 
seem to your Majesty that we might find some way 
of taking part in the war of the Western Powers with 
Russia.?" To which Victor Emmanuel answered 
simply : " If I cannot go myself I will send my brother." 
But it is not too much to say that the whole country 
was against him; even the heads of the Army were 
lukewarm; this was not the war they wanted. In the 
light of after events it seems strange that the alliance 
with France and England found so very few support- 
ers. But it was not given to many to have the prcv- 

ni76 3 




LA COMTESSE DE CASTIGLIONE 



ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

phetic vision of Cavour. Just a year later, lo January 
1855, the protocol of the alliance of Sardinia with 
France and England was at last signed. Never did a 
statesman play for a more daring and hazardous stake. 

When asked how the alliance could possibly be of 
use to Italy, he replied that plots and revolutions 
could never free Italy from the Austrian yoke. The 
laurels won by Sardinian soldiers in the East would 
do more for Italy than anything else ; it would prove 
that Italians could fight. But what if the laurels were 
never won ? At last the long-desired news arrived. On 
the 16 August the troops fought a successful engage- 
ment in which the men showed courage and steadiness. 
The nation was at once converted to the war policy. 

In February 1856 the preliminaries of peace were 
signed, much to the disappointment of the King and 
Cavour. The nation also asked once more, what was 
the good of it all? Time was soon to answer the 
question. 

The Congress met in Paris the last of February 
1856 and Cavour was present as the representative 
of Sardinia. Although he hated the task, he had all 
the qualities of a successful diplomatist. He neglected 
no opportunities, and enlisted in his services every one 
who could aid the cause. Thus he made an emissary 
of his cousin the beautiful Comtesse de Castiglione. 

If personal beauty be regarded as the sovereign 
gift, the crown among the charmeuses of the Second 
Empire should be awarded to the Comtesse de Cas- 
tiglione. According to authentic documents she was 
born in the palace of her father the Marquis Oldoini 
the 22 March 1835, although she claimed a date eight 

C1773 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

years later. At the age of twenty, Virginie Oldo'ini 
married the Comte CastigHone, a gentleman of the 
household of the King of Piedmont. At twelve years 
of age she was as large and as beautiful as she was 
at twenty. As a child, she had known Louis Napoleon, 
who had often visited the Oldoini palace during his 
winters in Florence, where her father at one time was 
his tutor. Her cousin Cavour was the first not only to 
appreciate her beauty, but also to realize how useful 
her intelligence and talent for intrigue could be in his 
diplomacy. 

It was at the instigation of Cavour that Madame 
de Castiglione went to Paris early in the winter of 
1856, just prior to the meeting of the Peace Congress. 
Her first visit was to Madame Walewska, a Florentine 
like herself, and the wife of Comte Walewski, Min- 
ister of Foreign Affairs, whom she wished to see for 
the purpose of renewing old acquaintance and also 
to be assured of a favorable reception by Parisian 
society. But the lovely Comtesse had no need of a 
sponsor, for the reputation of her charms had pre- 
ceded her. Her debut was made at an official ball at 
the Tuileries, where she attracted great attention, and 
danced with the Emperor himself. It did not take her 
long to capture the susceptible heart of Napoleon. 

That she came from Turin to Paris with the formal 
intention of attracting the attention of the Emperor, 
and of aiding the diplomacy of Cavour, is shown con- 
clusively by a letter which the latter wrote at the 
time: "La belle Comtesse,'* he said, "est enrollee 
dans la diplomatie Piemontaise. Je Tai invitee a co- 
queter, et, s'il le faut, a seduire TEmpereur." 

1:1783 



ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

Cavour had been a great gambler all his life. In 
this game, the beauty of Madame de Castiglione was 
his trump card, and with it he won the game. She 
soon gained sufficient influence over Napoleon to 
persuade him to invite Cavour to be present at the 
Congress of Paris. With his trump card, Cavour had 
won the first trick of the game, of which the stake was 
to be the unity of the Kingdom of Italy. It would be 
absurd, of course, to claim that the influence of the 
lovely Comtesse was the decisive cause of the war, 
but there is much evidence to show that she greatly 
aided the plans of Cavour in deciding the wavering 
mind of the Emperor. 

In the two months which Cavour spent in Paris 
he found that Walewski and the other Ministers were 
far from friendly to his plans. He could count on two 
men, however, to continue his work by keeping the 
cause of Free Italy constantly before Napoleon ; one 
was Prince Napoleon, who in 1859 married the 
Princess Clotilde, daughter of Victor Emmanuel; 
the other was Doctor Conneau, Napoleon's com- 
panion in prison at Ham, who was entirely in the 
Imperial confidence. Henceforth, Conneau was the 
secret, and for a long time the generally unsuspected, 
intermediary between Cavour and the Emperor. 
Another powerful influence was that of the Italian 
Count Arese, the truest and most disinterested friend 
of Queen Hortense, who remained attached to her 
son in good and evil fortune. Arese was in Paris dur- 
ing the Congress, having been sent by the King to 
convey his congratulations upon the birth of the 
Prince Imperial. 

C 179 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

With regard to Cavour's real business at Paris, 
the fate of Italy, he was obUged to act with the 
greatest self-restraint. The object nearest his heart 
was the union, or rather reunion, of Parma and Mod- 
ena with Piedmont, to which those duches had annexed 
themselves in 1848. Cavour returned to Turin with- 
out bringing "even the smallest duchy in his pocket," 
but satisfied that his moral victory was complete. 

Time seems long to those who wait. After the 
great expectations aroused by the Congress of Paris 
there followed a period of great depression in Lom- 
bardy. The years went by and the hope of assistance 
from outside seemed more remote than ever. Then 
came one of those unforeseen events which have so 
often marked a turning point in the world's history. 

In the year 1855, an attempt had been made on the 
life of the Emperor by an Italian named Pianori. 
Napoleon, who was on horseback, was riding at a 
walk, when a man standing on the sidewalk took 
careful aim and fired at him. The Emperor was nearly 
thrown from his saddle by the force of the bullet, 
which hit him full in the chest. His life was saved 
either by a coat of mail which he wore under his tunic 
or by the ball encountering some article in his pocket. 

Over two years later occurred the celebrated at- 
tempt of Orsini. 

The evening of the 14 January 1858 there was to 
be an extraordinary performance at the old Opera 
in the Rue Le Peletier for the benefit of the tenor 
Massol. One act of "Guillaume Tell" was to be 
given, followed by the ballet of "Gustave III," and 
"Maria Stuarda" with Ristori. The Emperor and 



ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

Empress were to be present. The Opera stood be- 
tween three streets, the Rue Le Peletier, the Rue 
Rossini and the Rue Drouot. On the fourth side was 
a narrow sombre passage-way called the "Passage 
Noir" which communicated with the Boulevard des 
Italiens by two showy galleries. The building had 
been constructed in 1820 upon the site of the former 
gardens of the Hotel de Choiseul. 

That evening the directors of the Opera and several 
dignitaries of the Court were awaiting the arrival of 
the Imperial party. It was half past eight, and the 
street was occupied by the escort, composed of the 
Lancers of the Guard. The Imperial equipage was 
drawing up before the stairway leading to the official 
box. Suddenly, at short intervals, were heard three 
terrible explosions. The window panes on all sides 
were broken, and the street was filled with the killed 
and wounded. The Emperor descended from his car- 
riage as calm as usual, and a few minutes later ap- 
peared in his box with his usual impassible face, 
while the conspirators on the stage sang the chorus 
of the oaths in "Guillaume Tell." He had escaped as 
by a miracle. Two projectiles had pierced his hat, 
but he had received no injury beyond a slight scratch 
on the nose. 

Two months later Orsini and Pieri, the chiefs of 
the conspiracy, were guillotined. It was the strong 
desire of the Emperor to pardon Orsini, but the loss 
of life had been too great, and it could not be. Yield- 
ing to the advice of his Ministers, Napoleon signed 
the death warrant. 

No one in Europe was more dismayed by the news 

1: 1813 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

of the Orsini attempt than Cavour, who feared that 
the sympathy of Napoleon for Italy would be turned 
to ill-will. A little later he received from Paris a copy 
of Orsini's last letter to Napoleon before his execu- 
tion, with his dying prayer: "Free my country and 
the blessings of twenty-five million Italians will go 
with you." Napoleon himself had been a conspirator 
most of his life, and this plea awoke a responsive 
echo in his heart. It was this, and not fear, as insin- 
uated by the Prince of Prussia, which so strongly 
moved the Emperor. The memory of his own part in 
the Italian revolutionary movement of 183 1 also gave 
dramatic force to the appeal. 

A month after Orsini's execution, Cavour received 
from a secret source, probably the Comtesse de 
Castiglione, the report that the Emperor was seriously 
considering an alliance with Sardinia, and also a mar- 
riage between his cousin, Prince Napoleon, and 
Clotilde, the King's daughter. Cavour showed the 
report to the King, but did not place much credence 
in it. 

In June, Doctor Conneau, who was travelling for 
"pleasure," saw both the King and Cavour at Turin. 
Under the seal of absolute secrecy it was arranged 
that Napoleon and Cavour should meet by "acci- 
dent" at Plombieres, a watering-place in the Vosges. 
Next month the Minister left Turin to take the cure. 

He succeeded in travelling so secretly that he was 
nearly arrested on his arrival because he had no pass- 
port. But one of the Emperor's suite recognized him, 
and made everything straight. He passed nearly all 
of two days in secret conference with Napoleon. 



ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

After the meeting on the second day the Emperor 
took him out in a carriage driven by himself, and at 
this time the project of Prince Napoleon's marriage 
with the Princess Clotilde was talked over. That 
evening the Emperor informed Cavour with a smile 
that Walewski had just telegraphed him from Paris 
the news that the Italian Minister was at Plombieres ! 

Cavour went home with great hopes, but no cer- 
tainty that the Emperor meant to act. He never felt 
sure whether Napoleon was in earnest or only build- 
ing castles in the air. Still the basis of an understand- 
ing had been reached. The Austrians were to be driven 
from Italy; then there was to be formed the Kingdom 
of Upper Italy. In return for the French assistance, 
Savoy was to be ceded to France; the fate of Nice 
was left undecided. Cavour had been authorized 
by the King to agree to all of these propositions; 
but had been instructed not to yield the point of the 
marriage of his daughter to the Emperor's cousin 
unless the alliance depended on it, which did not 
prove to be the case. On his return, however, Cavour 
urged the King, as a matter of policy, not to put any 
obstacles in the way of the marriage. Such was the 
celebrated Pact of Plombieres. 

The French alliance still rested on nothing more 
substantial than a verbal understanding which Napo- 
leon could repudiate at will. The marriage of Prince 
Napoleon, however, afforded an opportunity for ob- 
taining a more solid bond. The vanity of the Emperor 
was so flattered by the alliance of a member of his 
family with one of the oldest royal houses in Europe 
that he authorized Prince Napoleon, when he went 

C 183 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

to Turin, to sign a formal agreement pledging France 
to come to the assistance of Piedmont in case of an 
act of aggression on the part of Austria. 

As early as the month of December, in a conversa- 
tion with Odo Russell, Cavour had declared that he 
would force Austria to declare war against Italy, and 
when the incredulous Englishman asked when he ex- 
pected to bring about this consummation of his plans, 
he replied, "About the first week in May/' Even so 
astute a statesman as Bismarck once declared that he 
never could tell in advance whether his plans would 
succeed ; he could take advantage of political events, 
but he could not direct them. But since the meeting 
at Plombieres, Cavour had undertaken to direct 
events, the most difficult game which a statesman 
can play. 

Almost at the eleventh hour, it looked as if Napo- 
leon, in spite of his promises and his treaty, would 
decide not to go to war. For a moment Cavour thought 
he had failed. Apparently the Emperor's hesitation 
was real and not feigned. His Ministers and the 
Empress were strongly opposed to the war, for fear 
of a reverse. As Eugenie said, when flying from Paris 
in 1870: "En France il ne faut pas etre malheureux." 

At the very moment that Cavour thought that the 
game was lost, the unexpected happened. The Aus- 
trian Minister Buol sent a contemptuous refusal of 
the English proposal for a Congress, and said that 
they would themselves call upon Piedmont to disarm. 
Here was the famous act of aggression : Napoleon 
could not escape now. Such a piece of luck could not 
happen once in a century. 

1:184 a 



ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

At the meeting of the Chamber of Deputies 23 
April 1859, the Austrian ultimatum was presented. 
The Sardinian army was to be placed on a peace- 
footing, and unless a satisfactory answer was re- 
ceived within three days Austria would resort to 
force. Cavour replied that Piedmont had accepted 
England's proposal for a Congress, and that he had 
nothing more to say. The French Ambassador at 
Vienna notified Buol that his sovereign would con- 
sider the crossing of the frontier by Austrian troops 
equivalent to a declaration of war. 

At the end of April the war began. The public 
opinion of other nations blamed Austria and exoner- 
ated Piedmont, most unjustly, for, as we have seen, 
this war had been desired by Cavour and brought 
about by him with extraordinary skill. That he had 
succeeded in throwing the whole responsibility for 
it on the enemy was only further evidence of his 
clever statesmanship. 

The war lasted only about two months. The Aus- 
trian armies were large, but as usual badly led. When 
Piedmont was at their mercy, before the arrival of 
the French troops, they wasted their time. Active 
fighting did not begin until the French army, under 
command of the Emperor, reached Italy. The theatre 
of war was limited to Lombardy. At Magenta, on the 
fourth of June, and at Solferino twenty days later, 
the Allies were victorious. The latter was one of the 
greatest battles of the 19th century. It lasted eleven 
hours, and more than 260,000 men were engaged, 
and nearly 800 cannon. All Lombardy was conquered 
and Milan was occupied. It looked as if Venetia could 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

be easily over-run, and Napoleon's statement that 
he would free Italy "from the Alps to the Adriatic'* 
accomplished. 

Suddenly Napoleon halted in the full tide of success. 
On the eleventh of July, he sought an interview with 
Francis Joseph at Villafranca, and concluded an 
armistice without consulting the wishes of his Ally. 

The terms agreed upon between the two Emperors 
included the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia, and 
the inclusion of Venetia in the Italian Confederation, 
which was to be formed under the honorary presi- 
dency of the Pope, as a province, however, under the 
crown of Austria. 

The considerations which had determined Napo- 
leon to halt in the middle of a successful campaign, 
and before he had attained the objects of the war, 
were many and serious. While Magenta and Solfe- 
rino were victories, they might easily have been de- 
feats. Although Lombardy had been conquered, 
there lay before the Allies the famous Quadrilateral, 
a strongly fortified position, and they would soon be 
out-numbered by the Austrian reserves which were 
coming up. Moreover, Prussia was mobilizing her 
troops on the Rhine, and threatening intervention, 
and France could not afford to fight Austria and 
Prussia combined. 

Francis Joseph was equally eager for peace. He had 
no competent generals to command his armies. 
Hungary was making trouble, and he had no desire 
to be saved by Prussia, which] might then seize the 
leadership in Germany. Thus both sovereigns were 
eager to come to terms. 



ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE 

The news of the armistice was a cruel blow to 
Cavour, dashing his hopes of a free Italy just as they 
seemed about to be realized. He completely lost his 
self-control, and, in a fit of rage, resigned his premier- 
ship, because the King refused to follow his advice 
and resort to desperate measures. He was also very 
unjust to Napoleon, who if he had not done all that 
he had planned for Italy had yet rendered very valu- 
able service, in securing the annexation of Lombardy 
to Piedmont. The Emperor himself acknowledged 
that the failure to carry out the entire program can- 
celled any claim he had for the annexation of Savoy 
and Nice to France. 

In January i860, after an absence of six months, 
Cavour returned to power. He soon saw that the 
annexation of Central Italy to Piedmont could not 
be effected without Napoleon's consent, which could 
only be obtained by paying his price, which was the 
cession of Savoy and Nice to France. 

In order not to violate the principle that people 
have the right to dispose of themselves, it was ar- 
ranged that a plebiscite should be taken in both cases. 
As was expected, the states of Central Italy voted 
almost unanimously in favor of annexation to Pied- 
mont. Modena, Parma, Tuscany and the Romagna 
were thus added to the Kingdom of Piedmont, which 
had already received Lombardy. In less than a year 
a small state of five million inhabitants had more 
than doubled its population. Savoy and Nice, with 
a population of about 700,000, also voted almost 
unanimously in favor of annexation to France. One 
result of this annexation was to prove unfortunate 

1:1873 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

to France : it alienated England from Napoleon com- 
pletely. England had no wish to see her powerful 
neighbor grow larger. The Emperor was to feel the 
effect of this estrangement before many months had 
passed. 



1:188 3 



CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

1860 
FRANCE AND ITALY 

New Year's Day at Rome — Resignation of Walewski — The 
Speech from the Throne — Monsieur Thouvenel — The 
Italian Question — Nice and Savoy — The Great Powers 
— Treaty of Turin — Napoleon and Pius Ninth — General 
Lamoriciere — The Pontifical Army — Journey of the 
French Sovereigns — The Piedmontese Invasion — Castel- 
fidardo and Ancona — Kingdom of Naples — Diplomatic 
Protests — The Interview of Warsaw — Victor Emmanuel 
at Naples — End of the Year i860 

AT the reception of the Diplomatic Corps at 
the Tuileries on New Year's Day 1859, 
Napoleon, in a calm and courteous tone, 
had addressed to the Austrian Ambassador the re- 
marks that had foreshadowed the war of Italian 
Independence. But the first of January i860 passed 
at Paris without any such dramatic stroke as had 
ushered in the previous year. 

At Rome, however, the occasion was not so quiet. 
The Pope, Pius Ninth, in reply to General de Goyon, 
who had presented the respects of the French army 
of occupation, alluded to a publication, well known 
to have been inspired by the Emperor, as "a signal 
monument of hypocrisy," and made it very evident 
that the continuance of friendly relations between 
the Empire and the Holy See depended upon a dis- 
avowal of that publication. The French Ambassador, 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the Due de Gramont, wrote to Walewski, Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, of the painful impression made 
by the earnest words of the Holy Father, who gave 
way to his feehngs in a manner most unusual to him. 
On receipt of the news at Paris, the Empress was 
very much distressed. She could not hope to obtain 
a disavowal from the Emperor and, as a devoted ad- 
herent of the Pope, she dreaded the result. She de- 
sired to see the occupation of Rome by the French 
troops continued, as much as the Emperor wished to 
put an end to it. This might be called the beginning 
of an "irrepressible conflict" which was to last as 
long as the Empire existed, and which was finally 
to prove the ruin of the Imperial dynasty. Napoleon 
was literally "between the devil and the deep sea.'* 
If he recalled his troops from Rome, he would remove 
the last hope of the continuance of the temporal 
power of the Papacy and alienate forever the Catholic 
Church, which from the time of his candidacy for the 
Presidency had been his strongest and most effective 
supporter. If, on the other hand, he continued to 
maintain his forces in the Sacred City, he would 
block the hopes of Italian unity and lose the dearly- 
won friendship of his ally in the war of 1859. This 
antagonism between the two elements in the councils 
of the Emperor was to be displayed on more than 
one occasion during the year. 

Up to the close of the Congress of Paris, Comte 
Walewski, who was in charge of the Foreign Affairs 
of France, had been in entire accord with the Em- 
peror, but as soon as he saw that Napoleon was in- 
clined to favor the plans of Cavour, this complete 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

agreement no longer existed. As has already been 
stated, he was kept in ignorance of the meeting of 
Napoleon and Cavour at Plombieres. He was op- 
posed to the war, and eager to bring it to a close. 
This may have led him, in his dispatches to the Em- 
peror, to exaggerate the danger of Prussian inter- 
vention, which was the compelling motive that led 
Napoleon, in the full tide of success, to seek an inter- 
view with Francis Joseph and arrange the Truce of 
Villafranca. 

The Treaty of Zurich, which finally ended the war, 
had contained the proposition of a Congress, but the 
Emperor, after long hesitation, made up his mind 
to abandon to Sardinia the whole of Central Italy, 
including the Legations, and to demand in return 
the cession of Nice and Savoy. As it would be difficult 
to justify annexations so contrary to the Treaty, he 
no longer desired a Congress. The last of December 
there was published the pamphlet called "The Pope 
and the Congress," which had so deeply moved the 
Holy Father. 

The Pope, bound by his solemn oath of office, 
could not consider for a moment the idea of ceding 
any part of the States of the Church. When the Con- 
gress was definitely abandoned, Comte Walewski, 
a staunch supporter of the Papal claims, resigned his 
portfolio. The "Moniteur" of the fifth of January 
i860 published the following decree: "Monsieur 
Thouvenel, Ambassador at Constantinople, is ap- 
pointed Minister of Foreign Affairs to succeed the 
Comte Walewski, whose resignation has been ac- 
cepted." 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The English view of the episode was well expressed 
by a leader in the London "Morning Post'' which 
concluded thus: "There will be no more of those 
hesitations which have characterized the interval 
between the interview of Villafranca and the present 
moment. The head which directs the policy of France 
will be in accord with the hand which will carry it out. 
In any case,: there will be no intervention, and no 
opposition to Italy's taking the rank which be- 
longs to her among the nations of Europe, and which 
will satisfy at the same time the wishes of the 
Emperor Napoleon and the desires of the English 
nation." 

This article was reproduced in the "Moniteur" of 
the following day, and the French public was in this 
indirect manner notified of the diplomatic situation. 

The parliamentary session was opened this year on 
the first of March, at the Louvre, in the Hall of States, 
which is near the Salon Carre. During the reign of 
Napoleon, the speeches from the throne were always 
an event, the Emperor writing them himself and care- 
fully correcting the proofs. His speeches nearly always 
foreshadowed his policy for the coming year, and were 
therefore looked forward to with curiosity. Published 
immediately after delivery, they were at once trans- 
mitted by telegraph to all countries. 

In i860, the speech from the throne was more 
widely read and commented on than usual. The Em- 
peror said that, as he had guaranteed Italy from 
foreign intervention, he had not hesitated to inform 
the King of Sardinia that he could not follow him in 
his apparent tendency to absorb all the Italian States, 

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LE COMTE WALEWSKI 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

and that he had advised him to maintain the auton- 
omy of Tuscany and respect in principle the rights 
of the Holy See. 

He next foreshadowed the coming annexation of 
Nice and Savoy. He said: "In view of this transfor- 
mation of Northern Italy, which gives to a powerful 
State all the passages of the Alps, it was my duty, 
for the sake of our frontiers, to claim the French 
slopes of the mountains. There is nothing in this 
demand for a very limited territory which should 
alarm Europe or seem to contradict that policy of 
disinterestedness that I have more than once pro- 
claimed." 

Then touching on the subject of the recent religious 
agitation, he said that the past should be a guarantee 
for the future, that for the last eleven years he alone 
had maintained -in Rome the power of the Holy 
Father, without ceasing for a day to revere in him 
the sacred character of the chief of his religion. 

He assumed full responsibility for the commercial 
treaty with England, and concluded his speech with 
these eloquent words : "The protection of Providence, 
so visible during the war, will not be lacking to a 
peaceful enterprise whose object is the amelioration 
of the condition of the more numerous classes. Let 
us then steadily continue our progressive march, 
delayed neither by the murmurs of selfishness, the 
clamoring of parties, nor unjust suspicions. France 
threatens no one; she wishes to develop in peace 
the immense resources bestowed on her by Heaven, 
and she ought not to arouse jealous susceptibilities, 
since, at our present state of civilization, a truth which 

C 193 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

consoles and reassures humanity becomes every day 
more dazzlingly evident : namely, that the more pros- 
perous a country becomes, the more it contributes 
to the riches and prosperity of all others." 

With the opening of the session of the Corps Legis- 
latif, general attention was directed to the negotia- 
tions for the annexation of Nice and Savoy. These 
were conducted with great skill by Thouvenel, the 
new Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

Thouvenel, who belonged to an old and honorable 
family of Lorraine, was born at Verdun, 1 1 November 
1818. At college he showed a real vocation for his- 
toric and diplomatic questions, and a volume which 
he published on "Hungary and V/allachia," after a 
journey to the Orient, attracted the attention of 
Guizot, who obtained his admission to the political 
department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

In 1845, he was sent to Athens, as attache, and was 
finally appointed Minister by Louis Napoleon four 
years later. After serving for over a year as Minister 
at Munich, in February 1852, he was made chief of his 
old department in the Foreign Affairs. Owing to fric- 
tion with the Minister, in 1855, he was appointed 
Ambassador at Constantinople, where he made a 
brilliant record, bringing to a happy finish every 
negotiation that he undertook, notably the negotia- 
tions relating to the opening of the Suez Canal. 

With such a record, the appointment of Monsieur 
Thouvenel as Minister of Foreign Affairs was very 
favorably received by the public. He brought to his 
work limitless zeal, intelligence and activity. He was 
at once a student and a man of action. Thouvenel 

ni94 3 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

was one of the men who have most dignified the reign 
of Napoleon the Third. 

When Thouvenel entered upon his duties as Min- 
ister of Foreign Affairs, the Itahan question had taken 
a new phase. England had just formulated four propo- 
sitions: (i) France and Austria to refrain from any 
further interference in Italian affairs; (2) France to 
withdraw its troops from Italy as soon as this could 
be done without endangering order; (3) The internal 
organization of Venetia to be separately considered ; 
and (4) Sardinia to take no further steps towards 
annexations in Central Italy until the matter had been 
submitted to a new plebiscite. 

Towards the end of February, France proposed the 
following, in a spirit of conciliation: (i) Complete 
annexation of Parma and Modena to Sardinia; (2) 
Temporal administration of the Romagna by Sardinia 
as representative of the Holy See; and (3) Complete 
reestablishment of Tuscany. 

The French policy of compromises was a flat failure. 
It was satisfactory neither to the Pope, nor to the 
King. Cavour, who had returned to power in January, 
felt himself master of the situation, and no longer 
hesitated to act. He sent to Paris, as charge d'affaires, 
Monsieur Nigra, his disciple, a young man full of 
tact and cleverness. At the same time he intrusted a 
confidential mission to Arese, one of the oldest friends 
of Napoleon, who had great influence with him. 

It was evident that Sardinia proposed to go ahead 
with the annexations, which were to modify pro- 
foundly the relations between the two countries. As 
Napoleon had not fully redeemed his promise to 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

"free Italy from the Alps to the Adriatic," he had 
felt that he was not in a position to demand Nice and 
Savoy, and had acquiesced in the annexation of 
Lombardy with three million inhabitants to the old 
Kingdom of Piedmont with its five million souls. 
But now that it was proposed to increase Sardinia 
further by the addition of another three million 
inhabitants, comprised in the four states of Tuscany, 
Modena, Parma and the Romagna, the Emperor 
felt that he should have Nice and Savoy as a guar- 
anty against the powerful Kingdom in Northern Italy. 
It was only a question of elementary precaution that 
Italy should no longer possess both slopes of the Alps. 

To the Emperor Napoleon and his Minister Thou- 
venel is due the credit for the annexation of Nice and 
Savoy to France. England did everything in her 
power to defeat the plan, and it required all of the 
energy and ability of Thouvenel to bring the matter 
to a happy conclusion. He remained undisturbed by 
the objections raised, not only abroad, but also in 
France. He gave Sardinia distinctly to understand 
that she could not annex the duches and the Romagna 
without giving France the frontier of the Alps. Find- 
ing that there was no hope of interference from the 
Great Powers, and that England would not act un- 
aided, Cavour and the King made a merit of neces- 
sity and yielded. 

The annexations were accomplished without fur- 
ther delay. On the 24 March i860, the Treaty of 
Turin was formally signed, by which Sardinia ceded 
to France the territory of Nice and Savoy. The 
treaty stipulated that the inhabitants of all the 

1:1963 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

regions annexed to France should be consulted. The 
votes were taken at two special elections in April, 
and in both cases were practically unanimous in favor 
of union with France. No popular vote had ever re- 
corded such a majority. It was a brilliant triumph for 
the Second Empire. 

The Emperor wanted to make Thouvenel a duke, 
but the Minister refused any reward except the Grand 
Cross of the Legion d'honneur. 

In his work on "Napoleon the Third," Saint- 
Amand is authority for the following interesting anec- 
dote regarding the relations of Napoleon and Pius 
Ninth: "In 183 1, Louis Napoleon had just come to 
grief in the insurrection of the Romagna. Hunted by 
the Austrian troops, he wandered about, vainly seek- 
ing a place to lay his head. Arriving before Spoleto, of 
which city the future Pius Ninth was then Archbishop, 
he remembered that when this prelate was a simple 
canon at Rome, he and his brother had often served 
his Mass, and it occurred to the fugitive to ask him 
for shelter. Monseigneur received the son of Queen 
Hortense very kindly, and borrowed five thousand 
francs and gave them to the former altar boy. Then 
putting the Prince in his own carriage, he took the 
reins and drove him to a place of safety. The Pope, 
hearing of this incident, summoned the Archbishop 
to Rome, where he remained for some time in dis- 
grace. He did not, in fact, receive his cardinal's hat 
until 1840. Could a grateful heart like that of Napo- 
leon the Third forget such a service?" 

When Louis Napoleon was candidate for President 
of the Republic, he had no warmer supporter than the 

n 197 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

former Archbishop of Spoleto, who by that time 
was Pope, and the harmony between the Empire and 
the Papacy was not disturbed until the War of 1859. 
When that broke out, the most positive assurances 
were given to the Pope that all necessary measures 
would be taken to insure his safety and independence. 

Towards the end of January i860, a very difficult 
situation was suddenly created by the application 
of the deputies of the Romagna for admission to the 
Sardinian parliament. It was reported that England 
and France would immediately recognize the new 
state of things ; and the relations between the Vatican 
and the Tuileries at once became tense. No longer 
relying upon the protection of the strong arm of the 
"Eldest Son of the Church," Pius Ninth decided to 
organize a pontifical army to defend by force, if neces- 
sary, the States of the Church. 

In i860, a militant prelate, Monseigneur de Merode, 
belonging to the highest aristocracy of Belgium, a 
chamberlain of the Pope, was appointed Minister of 
War by Pius Ninth. It was the new Minister who 
conceived the idea of inducing General de Lamo- 
riciere to enter the Pope's service. 

Lamoriciere was probably the most illustrious of 
the few soldiers of France who had refused to take 
service under the Second Empire. On the first of 
April i860, he arrived in Rome, and immediately 
accepted the appointment of Generalissimo of the 
Pope's Army, with the sole proviso that he should 
not be called upon to serve against France. He re- 
ceived from the Emperor the authorization required 
to preserve his French citizenship. 

1:1983 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

On his arrival in Rome, the pontifical army com- 
prised about 16,000 men, and Lamoriciere occupied 
himself with completing its organization. Volunteers 
poured in, particularly from the Catholic provinces 
of western France, and from Belgium, and the army 
was soon increased to nearly 25,000 men. 

It is difficult now to understand why the Emperor 
should have chosen this most critical period of the 
relations between France and Italy and the Holy See, 
to start on the longest of the many Imperial journeys 
undertaken during his reign. 

Judged solely by the acclamations with which the 
sovereigns were everjrwhere greeted, the trip made 
by the Emperor and Empress to southeastern France, 
Corsica and Algeria, was the most successful ever 
undertaken. Leaving Saint-Cloud on the 23 August, 
after a stop at Dijon, the Imperial party reached 
Lyon the following evening. Here they visited the 
Palace of Arts and then the Palace of Commerce, 
which they inaugurated. After several days spent 
in Savoy, the party went to Grenoble and Avignon, 
and then proceeded to Marseille, where they ar- 
rived on the eighth of September. 

Here a despatch was received by the Emperor from 
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, stating that the 
Cabinet of Turin was sending a note to Cardinal 
Antonelli, to declare that if the Holy See did not dis- 
band the foreign troops, the Sardinian army would 
enter the Marches and Umbria, to occupy these prov- 
inces. Thouvenel then went on to say that this resolu- 
tion of the Sardinian Government was extremely 
grave, as it attacked the very principle of the French 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

occupation of Rome, and furthermore would seriously 
affect French relations with all the Great Powers, who 
could not understand how such a step could be taken 
without the consent of the French Government. 

In his reply the Emperor instructed Thouvenel to 
write that, if the Sardinian troops entered the Papal 
States after an insurrection, for the purpose of re- 
storing order, he had nothing to say, but if the States 
of the Church were attacked, he should withdraw his 
minister from Turin and intervene as antagonist. 

From Marseille the sovereigns sailed for Nice via 
Toulon, and on that very day, the eleventh of Sep- 
tember, the Piedmontese troops invaded the States 
of the Church and occupied Umbria and the Marches. 
Nevertheless the Emperor protested for form's sake 
only, and made no serious opposition. 

Leaving matters in this precarious condition, on 
the 13 September the Emperor left Nice for Corsica. 
It was long before the days of wireless telegraphy 
and he was for the time being entirely out of touch 
with the grave events which were occurring daily. 

The Emperor, however, knew perfectly well that 
he could prevent the occupation of the Papal territory 
by a single word. Abandoning himself to fatality, he 
left Italy to work out its own destiny. Thouvenel, 
having failed to induce him to oppose Piedmont 
effectively, made no further efforts to stem the tor- 
rent. 

The Imperial yacht arrived at Algiers on the morn- 
ing of the 17 September. Here on the following day, 
the Emperor received news of the death of the 
Duchess of Alba, the elder sister of the Empress. She 

C2003 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

had married a descendant of the famous Duke of Ber- 
wick, the illigitimate son of James the Second of Eng- 
land by Arabella Churchill, sister of the great Duke 
of Marlborough. In order not to cancel the elaborate 
preparations which had been made for their enter- 
tainment, Napoleon withheld the news from the 
Empress until their return to France four days later. 
So ended the long triumphal voyage of a month. 
Napoleon, like Nero, had fiddled while Rome 
burned ! 

In the meantime, a Piedmontese army of 33,000 
men had invaded the Papal States. The hour was 
decisive, and everybody wondered what Napoleon 
would do. As we have already seen, he did nothing 
but interpose a purely platonic opposition. The Pope 
and his Generalissimo still hoped for French assist- 
ance. While the defenders of the Holy See were thus 
beguiling themselves with vain hopes, the Piedmon- 
tese invasion was going on without difficulty. The 
French Ambassador, the Due de Gramont, wrote 
Monsieur Thouvenel: "There is no use trying to de- 
lude ourselves, we have never been criticized so 
severely as we are now. There is nobody who is not 
entirely convinced of our complicity with the Pied- 
montese." 

Lamoriciere had to fight without any assistance 
from France, and was obliged to retire in the direc- 
tion of Ancona. With hardly 5,000 men, he had to 
contend against nearly three times as many Pied- 
montese. On the 18 September, at Castelfidardo, 
about seven miles south of Ancona, he was over- 
whelmed by the veteran troops of Piedmont, and 

C2013 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

reached Ancona about six o'clock in the evening with 
an escort of only eighty men. Here ten days later, 
all means of defence being exhausted, Lamoriciere 
was obliged to capitulate. The garrison went out with 
the honors of war. The officers were transported by 
sea to Genoa, where they were restored to liberty. 

Lamoriciere went at once to Rome, where he re- 
signed his command to the Pope, who conferred upon 
him the Order of Christ. He refused to accept any 
other reward for his services. 

The Marches and Umbria were definitely lost to 
the Holy See. Until the year 1870, which saw the 
end of the temporal power of the Pope, all that re- 
mained of the former extensive States of the Church 
was Rome and its immediate environs, with a popu- 
lation of about 7oo,cxx) souls. 

In the south of Italy, events had taken a course 
decidedly opposed to the French program. Gari- 
baldi and his "thousand" had sailed from Genoa, 
with the connivance of the King and Cavour, and 
landed in Sicily, which he speedily overran. Thou- 
venel wrote to Persigny at London, proposing that 
the two Governments should prevent Garibaldi from 
crossing the Strait. England having refused the 
proposition, France could not afford to act alone. 
Sure of immunity. Garibaldi was free to go on with 
his conquests. On the evening of the 6 September, 
the King, Francis the Second, left his palace in 
Naples, which he never was to see again; and went 
aboard a Spanish ship in the harbor, and sailed for 
Gaeta. 

Garibaldi, who was at Salerno, took an express 
C 202 2 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

train, and went to Naples, which he entered with 
only a dozen officers. In a city of 400,ocx) inhabitants, 
he encountered not the sHghtest resistance. 

On the ninth of October the troops of Piedmont 
crossed the Neapohtan frontier, and Victor Em- 
manuel addressed a proclamation to the people of 
southern Italy. He said: "I await with calmness the 
judgment of civilized Europe and that of history, 
because I am conscious of having accomplished my 
duties as a King and as an Italian. I know that in 
Italy I am putting an end to the era of revolutions." 

A few days later, before any vote had been taken. 
Garibaldi in a decree announced the reunion of the 
Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy. 

Everybody was wondering what action would be 
taken by the Great Powers. For a moment it was 
thought that they would come to the aid of King 
Francis. The Czar not only issued a formal protest, 
but also recalled his minister from Turin. The Prus- 
sian legation was not recalled, but from Berlin 
also there came a severe censure of the invasion 
of the States of the Church and of the Kingdom of 
Naples. 

The dispossessed Italian sovereigns took heart 
when they learned that a meeting had been arranged 
at Warsaw between the Czar, the Emperor of Austria 
and the Prince Regent of Prussia. 

After declaring that the objects of the interview 
were not to form a coalition but to bring about a 
general understanding between the Great Powers, 
the Russian Court asked the French Government to 
let it know how far it could go toward accomplishing 

C2033 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

this result. Never had French diplomacy been placed 
in a more delicate position. 

Monsieur Thouvenel drew up a memorandum in 
which he stated the four following propositions: 
(i) If Italy attacks Venice, the Germanic powers 
remaining neutral, France will lend it no support; 
(2) The state of things which brought about the last 
war will not be restored. Lombardy will not be brought 
in question; (3) Everything which concerns the terri- 
torial limits of Italy will be submitted to a Congress ; 
(4) Nice and Savoy will not be subjects of discussion 
at the Congress, even though Italy should lose the 
acquisitions it has made since the stipulations of 
Villafranca and Zurich. 

The Czar adopted the substance of the above 
memorandum and made it the theme of the discus- 
sions at Warsaw. But all that passed between the 
sovereigns was an exchange of courtesies. No decision 
of any importance was reached. No one cared to go 
to war over the Italian question, and it was evident 
that Italy would yield only to force. 

The sovereigns separated on the 26 October, and 
the following day Lord John Russell, chief of the 
Foreign Office, addressed to the English minister at 
Turin a sensational dispatch which concluded as 
follows: "The Government of the Queen can see no 
sufficient motive for the severity with which Austria, 
Prussia and Russia have censured the acts of the King 
of Sardinia." 

This memorable dispatch had an immense success 
at Turin. Without spending a pound or risking the 
life of a single English soldier, England had substi- 

n204 3 



FRANCE AND ITALY 

tuted itself for France in the gratitude of Italy. Such 
was the result of the hesitating and vacillating policy 
of the Emperor Napoleon during the year i860. 

Having nothing further to fear from the Great 
Powers, sure of immunity, Victor Emmanuel could 
now go straight to his object. On the seventh of 
November he made a triumphal entry into Naples. 
Refusing all rewards for his services, Garabaldi re- 
tired to his small estate on the little island of Caprera. 

As the Emperor Napoleon reviewed in his mind the 
events of the year, he felt well satisfied. He rightly 
considered the annexation of Savoy and Nice as the 
greatest success of his reign. To his mind, the private 
interests of France came second to the general in- 
terests of mankind. Apostle of the principle of na- 
tionalities, of the right of every people to decide its 
own destiny, he was doomed to be a martyr in this 
cause. 



1:2053 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

1855-1867 

GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

Two Great Military Reviews — Death of the Grand Duchess 
Stephanie — The Baden Interview — The Visit to Corsica 
— The Reconstruction of Paris — Home Life in the Tuile- 
ries — The Exhibition of 1867 

DURING the reign of Napoleon the Third 
there were two grand reviews of his armies 
which surpassed all others in splendor. The 
first was on Christmas day 1855, when there defiled 
before the Emperor the battalions recalled from the 
Crimea, and the other was on the 14 August 1859, 
when the whole population of Paris united in cheering 
the troops returning from Italy. 

The first of these demonstrations was impressive, 
although on a much smaller scale than the second. 
The war in the Crimea was not yet finished, but the 
Emperor had decided to recall the Guard, and also 
four regiments of the line which had seen the hardest 
service. The wintry temperature was mitigated by a 
clear, sunny sky, and the streets were crowded with 
spectators. The Place Vendome was encircled with 
grand-stands. 

Napoleon had placed himself at the head of the 
troops massed in the Place de la Bastille, and had 
led the parade by the Boulevards to the Place Ven- 
dome. Here he halted in front of the tribune of the 

1:2063 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

Empress, and after saluting her, turned to review the 
parade as it passed. The troops, headed by General 
Canrobert, showed by their appearance that they had 
been through a hard campaign, and made a profound 
impression on the popular imagination. 

Four years rolled by, and then came the more 
striking spectacle of the 14 August 1859, the day of 
the return to the capital of the French army, covered 
with the glory of the victories of Magenta and Sol- 
ferino. The Emperor, who had personally commanded 
his troops, had been back at Saint-Cloud for four 
weeks, and had arranged all the details of the spec- 
tacle. 

The day was magnificent, the enthusiasm uni- 
versal, and the occasion as grand as the triumphs 
of ancient Rome. Again, the Place Vendome was 
encircled with tribunes, and decorated with flags 
and flowers. As the divisions marched by with their 
victorious eagles and the flags captured from the 
enemy, they were greeted with a regular shower of 
flowers from the windows above. But the enthusiasm 
was unbounded when the Emperor himself appeared, 
holding on the pommel of his saddle the little Prince 
Imperial, only three years old, who was dressed in 
the blue and red uniform of a grenadier of the Guard. 
The scene was indescribable. Handkerchiefs were 
waved, flags dipped, swords raised in salute; the 
soldiers, the spectators all applauded the baby Prince, 
upon his first public appearance. There was a regular 
tempest of enthusiastic cheers, and it was thought 
the demonstration would never cease. The associa- 
tion of this child, who seemed to represent the hopes 

C 207 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

of the nation, with the victories of Magenta and 
Solferino, at the base of the column crowned with 
the statue of the founder of the dynasty, touched the 
hearts of the people. At such a moment, who could 
fail to believe in the glorious future of the Empire! 

The last of January i860 the Court of the Tuileries 
was thrown into mourning, and the social whirl was 
for a time interrupted by the death of Stephanie, 
Grand Duchess of Baden. Few careers have been so 
brilliant as that of this princess. The father of Jose- 
phine's first husband had a brother Comte Claude 
de Beauharnais, whose son, also named Claude, was 
the father of Stephanie, who was born at Paris 28 
August 1779. Although frequently referred to by 
historians as the aunt of Napoleon the Third, it was 
only "a la mode de Bretagne." After the death of her 
mother, she had been confided to the care of an aunt, 
an aged religieuse, with whom she was living in com- 
plete obscurity, when her uncle conceived the idea 
of taking her to Paris and presenting her to Josephine. 
Josephine took a fancy to the young girl, and sent her 
to the fashionable school of Madame Campan at 
Saint-Germain, where her daughter Hortense and 
Napoleon's sister Caroline were also pupils. When she 
left school, her beauty, grace and wit made a sensa- 
tion at the Court of the Tuileries. Napoleon liked her 
so much, that in March 1806, to the surprise of every- 
body, he adopted her as his daughter, thereby giving 
her precedence as an Imperial Highness over his own 
sisters. A month later, 8 April 1806, she was married 
in the Chapel of the Tuileries to Charles, Grand Duke 

1:208] 




LE DUC DE MORNY 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

of Baden, a prince belonging to one of the oldest and 
most illustrious families in Europe, whose sisters had 
married respectively the Czar of Russia, the King 
of Sweden and the King of Bavaria. From this mar- 
riage there were born three daughters. The eldest, 
Louise, by her marriage with Prince Gustavus Vasa, 
had a daughter who was at one time thought of as a 
wife for Napoleon. She subsequently married the 
Prince Royal of Saxony, and became a Queen on his 
ascending the throne of his father. The second, Jose- 
phine, married Prince Anthony of HohenzoUern, and 
was the mother of the first King of Roumania, and 
of that Prince Leopold, who in 1870 was a candidate 
for the throne of Spain, and the indirect cause of the 
Franco-German war. The youngest daughter, Marie, 
who was also thought of as a wife by Louis Napoleon, 
married in 1848 the eldest son of the Duke of Hamil- 
ton, and was prominent at the Court of the Tuileries 
during the Second Empire. 

The Court of Berlin had been greatly disturbed by 
the annexation of Savoy and Nice to France, and it 
was generally assumed that the next move of Napo- 
leon would be to rectify the borders of France on the 
northeast by claiming the old frontier of the Rhine. 
In order to reassure the public mind, and put a stop 
to these rumors which were greatly irritating the 
South German States, Napoleon suddenly proposed 
to the Prince Regent of Prussia an informal inter- 
view at Baden, to which all the German sovereigns 
except the Emperor of Austria might be invited. 

During the reign of Louis Philippe, Baden had 
112093 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

become a favorite summer resort for Parisian society, 
and its popularity had much increased since the es- 
tablishment of the Second Empire. The season of 
i860 opened with this impromptu congress, at which 
nearly all the German sovereigns were present. 

The Emperor left Paris at seven in the morning 
on the 15 June, and arrived at Strasbourg at four- 
thirty, where he was greeted by a tremendous crowd. 
At Baden, he took up his residence in the Villa Ste- 
phanie, the former home of his cousin the Grand 
Duchess. He had often visited there as a young man 
while living at the Chateau of Arenenberg nearby. 
It gratified him to reappear as the Emperor of the 
French in the city which he had not seen since the 
eve of the Strasbourg attempt nearly a quarter of a 
century before. His only regret was that the amiable 
Stephanie was no longer there to receive him, but he 
was greeted by her daughter Marie, the Duchess of 
Hamilton. 

He arrived at half-past seven in the evening, and 
received the visit of the Prince Regent an hour later. 
The next day the Kings of Saxony, Bavaria, and 
Wiirtemberg, and the minor German sovereigns also 
called. It reminded the world of the days when the 
Great Emperor held his court at Erfurt, and all the 
European princes danced attendance. 

Napoleon produced a very favorable impression 
on all by his cordiality and simplicity of manner. 
He returned to Fontainebleau, where he had left the 
Empress, on the 18 June. The Baden interview greatly 
increased the prestige of the Emperor, and had a 
very favorable effect on public opinion everywhere. 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

The Bourse greeted his return by a great rise in 
prices. 

During the long and successful journey of the 
Emperor in the early fall of, i860, he spent a day at 
Ajaccio, the cradle of the Imperial race. Leaving Nice 
in the Imperial yacht, "L'Aigle," on the evening of 
the 13 September, the next morning they discovered 
on the horizon the picturesque isle of Corsica. A little 
later, Ajaccio appeared, in its magnificent site, lying 
in an amphitheatre of mountains at the extremity of 
the azure gulf. In the prison of Ham, Napoleon had 
often dreamed of a triumphal voyage to Corsica, and 
at last his dream had come true. 

At noon, the party landed at Ajaccio, and, after 
listening to an address of welcome, drove to the Place 
Letizia, in which is situated the Bonaparte house, 
a large four-story dwelling. Burned during the 
Revolution, it had been rebuilt later by the family 
of Cardinal Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon. It contains 
much authentic furniture of the period of the First 
Empire, and among other curios, a harpsichord which 
belonged to Madame Mere. Then they visited the 
Fesch palace, and its chapel, in which are the tombs 
of Madame Mere and the Cardinal, both of whom 
died at Rome. 

After a stormy voyage the yacht reached Algiers 
on the morning of the 17 September, and here the 
Emperor received a telegram announcing the death 
of the Duchess of Alba, which had occurred the pre- 
vious night at Paris, in her hotel on the Champs- 
Elysees. The sad news was withheld from the Empress 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

until she landed in France a few days later, when 
she was overwhelmed with grief. She went into re- 
tirement for several months, and suppressed for that 
year the customary fetes at Compiegne, and did not 
resume her social duties as sovereign until the fol- 
lowing season. 

The most important internal work of the reign of 
Napoleon was the reconstruction of Paris, under the 
direction of the Prefect of the Seine, Baron Hauss- 
mann. No obstacle was put in the way of his plans. 
He had the assistance of the ablest engineers of the 
time, the authority of the Emperor, which ordered 
and directed, the funds which made the execution 
possible. His task was to change from top to bottom 
the physical aspect of a great city. 

Vistas were opened through masses of unsanitary 
dwellings. In his cabinet at the Tuileries, the Em- 
peror placed a ruler on the map of Paris and drew a 
straight line from the Opera to the Palais Royal, and 
gave orders for the creation of the magnificent Avenue 
de rOpera. The outlying quarters were connected by 
straight boulevards to the heart of the city. The Rue 
de Rivoli was extended from the Tuileries to the Bas- 
tille, through one of the most tortuous, ill-built and 
over-populated quarters of Paris. The gigantic plan 
of the completion of the Louvre, which had appalled 
several preceding dynasties, was carried out. The 
magnificent Place du Carrousel was levelled and laid 
out. The Grands Boulevards were completed to the 
Madeleine. To the west, the Champs-Elysees were 
decorated with flowers and shrubs, and enlivened 

n2i2 3 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

with fountains, and the Bois de Boulogne was finished 
like a gentleman's park, and embellished with broad 
expanses of ornamental water. The Tour du Lac 
became the fashionable drive of Paris. 

A stately Palace of Justice rose on the banks of the 
Seine. The Hotel Dieu and the Opera were completed. 
The beautiful Pare Monceaux and the magnificent 
avenues radiating from the Arc de Triomphe were 
laid out on what at the time of the Revolution of 
February were waste lands or slums. 

The dirty alleys and tumble-down houses around 
Notre Dame were cleared away. The Tour Saint- 
Jacques became the centre of a garden, and the Place 
du Chatelet a quarter of new and handsome theatres. 
The Place des Vosges, the ancient Place Royale, the 
meeting place of the Mousquetaires in the celebrated 
romance of Dumas, became once more a fashionable 
quarter of the city, where Victor Hugo made his 
residence after his return from exile. 

If by the wave of a fairy's wand v/e could bring 
back for a moment the Paris of Louis Philippe, a cry 
of horror would fill the air. People would wonder how 
the fastidious Parisians ever lived in such pestilent 
dens. The horrible maze of loathsome by-ways in the 
Quartier Saint-Marceau, the cut-throat alleys of the 
Cite, the dark and muddy streets which lay between 
the Palais Royal and the unfinished Louvre, the miser- 
able huts and sheds upon the broken ground between 
the Tuileries and the Louvre, the ugly slums about 
the Arc de Triomphe, the dusty, neglected Bois 
— these were only a few of the plague-spots trans- 
formed by the plans of the Emperor into the broad 

C2133 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

and beautiful boulevards, public squares and parks, 
which will be an enduring monument of his reign. 

The general plans for these improvements had been 
formed and studied under preceding administrations, 
but the work had never been commenced. Under 
Napoleon the enormous work was begun and car- 
ried to a successful conclusion. On every side there 
were changes of perspective and new aspects. Blocks 
of old houses disappeared as by enchantment. Friends 
of the past lamented to see disappear so many edi- 
fices where generations had lived and died. Lovers of 
art denounced the vandalism of the destruction of so 
many historical monuments. Amateurs of original 
construction revolted against the uniformity and 
monotony of the new facades. But all objections were 
swept aside, and the work went on. j 

The opening of new quarters kept pace with the 
destruction of old. Socialists cried out against the 
abuse of authority which chased the artists from 
the centre, and wiped out the Paris artistic and his- 
toric for the unique triumph of a luxurious mate- 
rialism. 

But the Emperor did not confine his attention to 
the embellishment of his capital. Lyon, Bordeaux 
and other great centres felt the benefits of his initia- 
tive. One of the first acts of his government had been 
to unite to Lyon the three suburbs of La Guillotiere, 
Vaise and Croix-Rousse, thus placing under one mu- 
nicipal administration the districts so closely united 
by a community of interests. At Rouen, handsome 
new streets appeared between the railway station and 
the old town. Everywhere in France the same far- 

C2143 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

seeing policy was carried out. The cities were em- 
bellished with monuments. Industry received a new 
impetus. France attracted to its markets the funds 
of all Europe. 

Now that the Tuileries have been destroyed for 
fifty years, and plans of the building are very difficult 
to obtain, it is not easy to give an idea of the arrange- 
ment of the palace. The main front was on the former 
Cour des Tuileries, now transformed into a garden, 
with the entrance by the Place du Carrousel. There 
were two main stories, with a lower third story above. 
At the centre was the Pavilion de I'Horloge, with the 
Pavilion de Flore at the left, or side of the Seine, and 
of Marsan at the right, on the Rue de Rivoli. The rear 
of the place looked out on the Gardens, with the Place 
de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees beyond. 

To get an idea of the internal arrangement of the 
rooms, so difficult to describe, and of which a plan 
would hardly clear up the intricacy, the best way 
to-day is to visit the "petits appartements" at Ver- 
sailles. There, in those dark corridors, where there is 
hardly room for two persons to pass; in those steep, 
turning staircases, which have to be lighted night 
and day; in those little rooms, with ceilings so low 
you almost touch them with your head, you are able 
to visualize what the Tuileries were like, during both 
the First and the Second Empire. 

The principal room was the Hall of the Marshals, 
which with the grand vestibule and staircase of honor 
occupied all of the central pavilion, and formed the 
communication between the two wings of the palace. 

[1215 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The left wing contained on the first two floors the 
apartments of the Emperor and Empress, while in 
the right wing were situated the rooms of the Conseil 
d'Etat, the Chapel, the Salle de Spectacle, and at the 
end, on the Rue de Rivoli, the rooms for distinguished 
visitors. 

The Emperor selected for his private rooms in the 
Tuileries a few low chambers on the ground floor 
between the Pavilion de I'Horloge, at the centre, and 
the Pavilion de Flore abutting on the Seine embank- 
ment. A dark corridor, always lighted by a lamp, 
connected the rooms. From the Emperor's study a 
flight of steps led down from one of the windows to 
the Gardens, where he took his daily walks. 

The Emperor's cabinet, where he did all of his 
work, was a low, gilded chamber, the walls of which 
were covered with miniatures of the family and arms 
of every kind. The furniture was of the First Empire. 
Queen Victoria recorded in her Diary that the Em- 
peror had in his bedroom busts of his father and 
uncle, and in other rooms, portraits of Napoleon, 
Josephine and Hortense. 

From the cabinet of the Emperor, a spiral staircase 
led to the library of the Empress above. Adjoining 
the cabinet were the rooms of his secretaries, and be- 
yond was the Council Chamber where the meetings 
of the Ministers were held. Nearby were the quarters 
of his former valet Charles Thelin, now Privy Purse, 
and of his two servants, Goutellard and Miiller, who 
were with the Emperor at his death. These, with 
Felix, composed the entourage of the Emperor in his 
private apartment. Felix had charge of a perfect mu- 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

seum of models and curiosities of all kinds, sent the 
Emperor from every part of the world. 

The Emperor was always an early riser, and by 
eight o^clock he had shaved himself, and was dressed 
with English care and neatness, and was joined by 
the Empress for early tea. At nine, the Emperor 
went over his correspondence with his secretary, and 
then gave audiences to his Ministers. After this he 
passed to the Council Chamber and took his hat, 
which was always of the d'Orsay pattern, his gloves, 
and the familiar gold-headed eagle-cane, and went 
for his morning walk in the Gardens. Leaning on the 
arm of an aide de camp, he paced slowly back and 
forth, seldom speaking. 

At eleven-thirty, a simple dejeuner was served, 
with a little light wine; and after this, the formal 
reception of distinguished strangers took place. 
About four o'clock the Emperor and Empress went 
for their afternoon drive, generally to the Bois. 

Seven o'clock was the fixed hour for dinner at the 
Tuileries, and before that time the invited guests 
assembled in the salon adjoining the dining-room on 
the first floor. As the Emperor approached with the 
Empress on his arm, the usher announced their Im- 
perial Majesties, and the doors were thrown open. 
The Emperor always sat in the middle of the table, 
with the Empress on his left. The dining-room was 
known as the Salon Louis Quatorze from a large pic- 
ture of the "Roi Soleil" in ceremonial attire. 

The Imperial dinner parties varied in numbers 
from twelve to eighteen on ordinary occasions. Jer- 
rold says: "It was a pleasant, intimate circle, and the 

C2173 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Emperor was the gayest of the diners, when his 
health was fairly good; talking easily and cheerily 
round the table of the news of the day — but never 
of people. This was the rule in the dining-room as 
well as the drawing-room. He had the happy art of 
saying something to please every guest ; of being one 
of the party and remaining the Emperor always. 
After dinner the Emperor and Empress led the way 
back to the drawing-room, where coffee was served 
while the company chatted. Then he retired to his 
cabinet downstairs for his cigarette, and very often 
for some hours of state or literary work. He would 
sometimes reappear later, at the tea-table, and listen 
to, rather than engage in, the conversation." 

The Emperor as a rule retired very early, generally 
by ten o'clock. It had always been his habit to lie 
down, not to sleep, but to think and dream at his 
ease. 

Such was the ordinary home life of the Tuileries 
under the Second Empire. 

Between the years of splendor of the Second Em- 
pire and the period of decline, there was one glorious 
hour when the setting sun of Imperialism shone in 
all its brilliancy before disappearing forever. This 
was the year of the Universal Exhibition of 1867. 

In the importance of the visitors to Paris, in the 
number and the brilliancy of the official fetes, in the 
diversity of the amusements offered to the crowd, 
Europe had seen no similar occasion since the great 
Vienna Congress of 18 15. From the first days of 
February, Paris had begun its preparations to receive 

1:218 a 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

the visitors. Finally the opening day arrived. There 
was a magnificent assembly of notables in the Palace 
of Industry. The Emperor presided at the ceremony, 
in evening dress, with the grand cordon of the Legion 
d*honneur upon his breast. By his side was the Em- 
press in the full maturity of her charms, and as usual 
exquisitely gowned and sparkling with jewels. 

No one had been overlooked in the official invita- 
tions addressed to the European sovereigns, who, 
however, showed no haste to arrive. Victor Emmanuel 
had sent word that he was kept at Turin by a serious 
illness, which however did not prevent him from 
hunting in the mountains. The Czar was the first to 
announce his early arrival. As soon as this news was 
received at the other capitals, every one of the sov- 
ereigns hastened his preparations for departure. The 
King of Prussia set out, bringing with him the two 
men of his choice. Otto von Bismarck and Count 
von Moltke. 

The most distinguished monarchs v/ere the first to 
arrive. After them came the Kings of Wiirtemberg, 
Bavaria, Belgium, and a multitude of princelings, 
and last, but not least, in point of interest, the Sultan 
of Turkey. 

To receive the new Czar of Russia, and the new 
King of Prussia, there had been arranged superb 
parades of troops and other military spectacles, special 
performances at the Opera, and many brilliant cere- 
monies. The principal figures attracted primarily the 
public attention. First of all was the Czar, a man of 
imposing stature, of agreeable, though severe ex- 
pression, with a great reputation for generosity. It 

C2193 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

was reported that he spent the sum of three milHon 
francs during his visit. In spite of the popular sym- 
pathy for unhappy Poland, he was a great favorite 
with the Parisians. But if the city received the Czar 
with warmth, it only extended to William of Prussia 
a cold courtesy. There was a marked difference in 
the welcome given to the two sovereigns from the 
North. The flags of England and of Russia floated 
from all the windows, but the German colors were 
rarely seen. With his military carriage, his severe 
countenance, the King of Prussia won few hearts. It 
was frequently remarked that William had done well 
in bringing his aides de camp, as otherwise he would 
have been rather lonely in the crowd. On the other 
hand, Bismarck attracted much attention wherever 
he appeared. It was said afterwards that the Prus- 
sians did not lose their time while in Paris, and that, 
beneath the brilliant surface, they clearly saw the lack 
of internal organization and the defective state of 
military preparedness, and that they well used their 
information three years later. 

Paris had never been so animated as during the 
summer of 1867. Not a day passed without some 
special entertainment for the visitors. Every night 
there was a state dinner or a ball. No one thought of 
anything but pleasure. But everything must have 
its end, and the time came, only too soon, for the 
sovereigns to return to their capitals, and^ resume 
once more the conduct of affairs. 

The fireworks were over. The military bands no 
longer played the different national airs. All the 
monarchs had gone home charmed with their visit. 

n22o3 



GLORIOUS DAYS OF THE EMPIRE 

The Emperor was delighted with the success of his 
entertainment, and flattered himself that another 
glorious page had been written in the annals of the 
Imperial dynasty. 

Both the Czar and the King of Prussia had brought 
their Ministers with the idea of discussing some serious 
political problems, but Napoleon had given them no 
opportunity. He thought of nothing but pleasure 
and amusement, and a chance to strengthen inter- 
national ties was carelessly thrown away. 



C2213 



CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

1860-1870 

HOME AFFAIRS 

Effect of the Italian War — Damage to the Emperor's Prestige 

— The English Treaty of Commerce — Opposition of the 
Protectionists — Religious Agitation — Foundation of the 
Liberal Empire — Change in the French Navigation Laws 

— Further Concessions to the Liberals — Growing Strength 
of the Opposition — Death of Morny — Rise of the Third 
Party — Wavering Policy of the Emperor — Final Adop- 
tion of the Liberal Plan — The Ollivier Ministry — The 
Nation Approves the Liberal Reforms — Satisfaction of the 
Emperor 

THE history of the Empire, from its founda- 
tion in 1852, to i860, was one of great and 
uninterrupted success. It was a period of 
despotic government, more absolute than that of the 
Czar. The whole government of France was centered 
in the hands of the Emperor. 

The following ten years were to witness the trans- 
formation of the Empire from autocracy to liberalism, 
the rise of a small but vigorous opposition party, a 
growing demoralization within the State, and a dis- 
astrous foreign policy, leading to a final, tragic col- 
lapse. 

. "The turning point in the history of the Empire," 
says Hazen, "was the Italian war. However beneficial 
to Italy, that war raised up for Napoleon a host of 
enemies in France. One of its features had been the 
attack upon the temporal power of the Papacy. That 

C 222 2 



HOME AFFAIRS 

power was not overthrown in fact, but it was in prin- 
ciple. The Pope had lost most of his states, the rest 
were in danger. Catholics were bitter in their de- 
nunciation of Napoleon. This was most damaging 
for him, as his strongest supporters had hitherto been 
the clergy, the clerical press, and the faithful. But 
other groups also were offended : monarchists, because 
of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Naples and the 
duchies ; patriots of various affiliations and members 
of the liberal constitutional party in Parliament, be- 
cause they believed the erection of a strong state to 
the southeast of France prejudicial to her best in- 
terests, it being better to have several weak states 
as neighbors than a single strong one." 

The only party in France favorable to the Em- 
peror's Italian policy was the small democratic op- 
position, and this fact alone should have caused him 
to hesitate. Even before the commencement of the 
war a prominent government official had reported to 
the Emperor that partisans of the Italian war could 
be found only in those circles which were plotting 
for the overthrow of the Empire. 

By the outcome of the war, the Emperor's prestige 
both at home and abroad was seriously damaged. 
After undertaking to "free Italy from the Alps to the 
Adriatic," he had stopped short, in the full tide of 
victory, and concluded the Treaty of Villafranca, 
which left Venetia in the hands of Austria. He had 
then stood supinely by, while the unification of 
Italy was accomplished. By a policy, alternately so 
rash and so pusillanimous, his reputation as a ruler 
of intelligent views and decision of character had 

C2233 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

been seriously impaired. By allowing long-established 
legitimate governments to be overthrown, and by 
taking Savoy and Nice in payment for his services, 
he created everywhere in Europe a sentiment of sus- 
picion and hostility, which alienated England, as well 
as other states, and gave the impression that he was 
desirous of repeating his uncle's policy of conquest. 
During the following ten years he was to experience 
the results of his ill-advised Italian policy. 

It was at this time that he offended another power- 
ful interest at home. On the fifth of January i860 the 
Emperor addressed to the Minister of State a letter 
which was intended to prepare the public mind for 
the commercial treaty which he was secretly prepar- 
ing, and which he was well aware would meet with 
the strongest opposition from the French protec- 
tionists. 

Napoleon dearly loved dramatic strokes. He was 
getting ready ito demand the annexation of Nice and 
Savoy, which he knew would arouse the jealousy and 
suspicion of Europe, 'and like an adroit prestidigita- 
teur he chose this moment to distract the public at- 
tention by a clever and timely diversion. In this 
letter he attempted to reassure people by speaking 
only of the victorieis of agriculture, commerce and 
industry. 

The letter of the Emperor was received with en- 
thusiasm by the semi-official press. It broke with 
routine and opened up new paths for national pros- 
perity, but at the same time it dealt a hard blow to 
the great French manufacturing interests, who were 
not at all disposed to accept foreign competition. 

C2243 



HOME AFFAIRS 

Just eighteen days later, 23 January, the Treaty 
of Commerce between France and England was 
signed at Paris, by Baroche and Rouher, on the part 
of France, and Lord Cowley and Richard Cobden 
for England. 

No negotiations had ever been carried on more 
mysteriously. It was a regular commercial coup 
d'etat, a rude break with the traditions of French 
policy. Since the time of Colbert, France had lived 
under a protective policy. Napoleon the First had 
endeavored to close not only the ports of France, but 
of all Europe, to English goods. To attain his end, he 
had deposed his brother from the throne of Holland, 
and annexed the Low Countries to the Empire, and 
had undertaken the disastrous Russian campaign. 

While a prisoner at Ham, Louis Napoleon had de- 
clared himself in favor of free trade. A first attempt, 
made in 1856, to introduce his ideas in France had 
been unsuccessful. The bill presented to the Corps 
Legislatif had to be withdrawn. But the Emperor, 
whose strongest characteristic was tenacity, still 
clung to his idea, and awaited a more favorable 
moment. 

The chief exponent in France of the principles of 
free trade was Michel Chevalier. In England, Richard 
Cobden occupied a like prominence. These two men 
met at an economic congress at Bradford in 1859, and 
later Cobden came to Paris where he had several 
important interviews with the Emperor. 

Napoleon, who was convinced that no favorable 
action could be expected from the Chambers, re- 
solved to take advantage of the powers conferred 

n225 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

upon him by the Constitution and conclude the 
treaty of his own initiative. 

The treaty, which settled for ten years the com- 
mercial relations between France and England, was 
a real revolution in economic matters. The French 
market for the first time opened wide its doors to 
English products. Articles formerly prohibited were 
to be subject to a tax not exceeding thirty per cent 
on their value. In return, France secured a reduc- 
tion of duties on wines and spirits and complete ex- 
emption from duties on silks and all articles of fancy 
or fashion. 

The treaty was not made public until the tenth of 
February. It was well received by the classes which 
it benefited, and was probably advantageous to 
France as a whole, but it aroused a storm of protest 
from the manufacturers of iron and textiles. The vio- 
lent struggle which was thus precipitated between 
the protectionists and the free-trade party continued 
through the entire reign, and created many bitter 
enemies for the Imperial regime. 

At the same time that much unrest had been 
created in material matters by the English Treaty, 
the Government of the Emperor had to contend with 
a strong opposition from religious interests. Sir 
Charles Greville wrote in his Journal, 22 January 
i860: "The Emperor must have extraordinary con- 
fidence in his personal prestige to defy both the cleri- 
cal and the protectionist parties at the same time; 
it will be interesting to see whether events will justify 
this audacity." 

Except for the Roman question, the most complete 
C2263 



HOME AFFAIRS 

harmony would always have existed between the 
Emperor and the Papacy. From the day that he was 
a candidate for President of the Republic, Napoleon 
had had no warmer or more efficient supporters than 
the clergy of France. Nothing had contributed more 
to secure him the cooperation of the conservative 
classes and the approbation of Catholics in all coun- 
tries. It was no small thing for him to alienate this 
support, and this was the direct result of his inter- 
ference in Italian affairs. Since the publication of the 
pamphlet on "The Pope and the Congress," which 
had so deeply moved the Holy Father, the religious 
agitation had been increasing daily. 

The effect of the pamphlet was most unfortunate. 
The Bishops of Orleans and of Poitiers prepared in- 
dignant refutations of the brochure. The Pope ex- 
horted the faithful of the entire world to cooperate 
in defending the rights of the Holy See. In Paris, the 
"Correspondent" published four articles, treatitig the 
question in all its aspects, which produced a real 
sensation. This journal was warned, and many others 
were suppressed for their articles on the question. 
Even Guizot, the most celebrated of Protestants, 
approved the attitude of the Pope, and for once 
found himself in complete accord with Thiers. 

The efforts of the Imperial Government to arrest 
the movement were powerless. All the adversaries 
of the Empire took advantage of the occasion, and 
awoke to new life ; the old parties took new courage. 
For the rest of his reign the Emperor found himself 
opposed by a strong coalition of clericals and re- 
publicans. 

C2273 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

In the "Napoleonic Ideas," the Emperor had out- 
Hned his policy of "crowning the edifice" with the 
cap of liberty as soon as the people were prepared 
for this change. The first step was taken in the cele- 
brated Decree of 24 November i860, which in its 
way was a stroke as dramatic and unexpected as the 
commercial treaty with England at the beginning of 
the year. 

The Chambers were called upon for the first time 
to vote a reply to the speech from the throne ; minis- 
ters without portfolios were instituted to explain and 
defend the government projects; debates were to be 
published in full ; exercise of the right of amendment 
was guaranteed to the Corps Legislatif. 

It was at once evident to far-seeing minds that 
this system would necessarily result later in minis- 
terial responsibility, and the formation of cabinets, 
as in England, under the lead of a prime minister. 
The friends of Imperialism were far from satisfied 
with the change, and felt that the Emperor was his 
own worst enemy in unnecessarily creating diflEculties 
and embarrassments which would always go on in- 
creasing. In the sovereign's mind it was an honest 
and loyal experiment, which would determine him 
either to limit the reforms or go on with their devel- 
opment. The only result of the concessions was to 
put new and powerful weapons into the hands of the 
constantly increasing band of his enemies. 

By the year i860, the Emperor had thus succeeded 
in offending large and influencial classes at home: 
the Catholics, by his Italian policy, and the manu- 
facturers by his treaty of commerce, which it was 

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HOME AFFAIRS 

claimed subordinated French interests to English, as 
the war had sacrificed the welfare of France for that 
of Italy. 

He now negotiated with England a change in the 
French navigation law, which while beneficial as a 
whole to his country, was violently opposed by French 
ship-owners, who were influential enough to obtain a 
modification of the decree, which nullified the law 
in many respects. In March i860, a motion had been 
carried in the House of Commons for an address to 
the Queen to enter into negotiations with the Em- 
peror with a view of making a treaty "for the recip- 
rocal abrogation of all discriminating duties levied 
upon the vessels and their cargoes of either of the two 
nations in the ports of the other." 

Mr. W. L. Lindsay, the author of this motion, nine 
months later was sent to Paris by Lord Russell 
to urge the French Government to pass such 
measures. 

Mr. Lindsay, after several interviews with the 
Emperor, was successful in impressing him with the 
importance of the subject. In May 1862, a report 
drawn up by Monsieur Rouher, relative to the state 
of the French Mercantile Marine, was published 
in the "Moniteur." Radical changes were suggested, 
but these were not authorized by the Chambers until 
four years later. In 1872, Monsieur Thiers, then 
President of the Republic, under a threat of resigna- 
tion, persuaded the Assembly to reverse much of 
the law of 1866, but, in July 1873, two months after 
his resignation, the Assembly retraced its steps. Thus 
foreign vessels, as decreed by the Emperor, are now 

C2293 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

placed in French ports upon the same footing as those 
of France. 

In November i860, the Emperor, feehng that he 
was losing strength with the Catholic and Conser- 
vative elements, had begun to seek the support of the 
Liberals, previously his most bitter opponents. By 
the decree of the 24 November he had entered upon 
the work of "crowning the edifice'* which he had 
declared to be the ideal of the Napoleonic system. 

After the great humiliation of the Mexican war, 
and his loss of prestige in Europe through the sudden 
rise of Prussia, Napoleon felt the need of new sources 
of strength, and, in 1868, he turned again to the 
Liberals with still greater concessions. At the begin- 
ning of his reign, he had declared that autocratic 
power was only provisional, but notwithstanding the 
liberal changes which he had already decreed, the 
system of 1852 was still practically in full force. 
Prematurely old, and suffering acutely from disease, 
he no longer felt able to carry alone the responsibility 
of the government. In 1867, the right was granted the 
Chamber to question the Ministers concerning their 
acts and policies. The following year, many of the 
restrictions were removed from the press, and the 
right of public meetings was granted, subject to cer- 
tain restrictions. 

The Empire had thus at last entered upon a frankly 
liberal policy. The result was greatly to weaken, in- 
stead of to strengthen it. It gave increased power to 
the growing Republican party, which made use of the 
liberal concessions made by the Emperor bitterly 
to attack the whole Imperial regime, which, it was 

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HOME AFFAIRS 

evident, they were determined to annihilate com- 
pletely. 

It was in the midst of these assaults on the Im- 
perial Government that the Due de Morny died. 
Since 1854 he had been the President of the Corps 
Legislatif. He was liberal in his principles, and the 
changes in the government had met with his approval. 
The splendor in which he lived at the Palais Bourbon 
had aroused the wrath of the Republicans, but his 
courtly manners and his impartiality as presiding 
officer made him a general favorite, regardless of 
parties. His commanding intellectual resources would 
have given him a high place among French statesmen 
had not his public services been tarnished by his 
private vices. 

The Emperor spent part of the last night by the 
dying man's bedside. Although, of late years, their 
relations had frequently been strained by the im- 
prudence of the Due's speculations in the Bourse, at 
the end. Napoleon could only remember the brilliant 
gifts, and the courageous and loyal heart, of his 
steadfast associate during the critical days of the 
coup d'etat. 

Alphonse Daudet in speaking of the death of the 
Due de Mora (Morny) in "Le Nabab" says: 

" He was the most brilliant incarnation of the Em- 
pire. What one sees of an edifice from afar is not the 
solid base, the architectural mass, it is the delicate, 
golden spire, added for the satisfaction of the coup 
d'ceil. What one saw of the Empire in France, and in 
all Europe, was Mora (Morny). When he disappeared, 
the monument was stripped of all its elegance." 

C2313 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Between the out-and-out supporters of the Empire, 
and the RepubHcans, its bitter opponents, there arose 
at this time the so-called Third Party, headed by 
Ollivier, a former RepubHcan. This Party was wiUing 
to support the Empire, if Napoleon would make it 
completely liberal, that is to say, adopt the English 
system of parliamentary government with a respon- 
sible ministry, in place of personal rule. 

For a time, the Emperor wavered between the two 
policies which were urged upon him : one, a return to 
the earlier dictatorship, advocated by the Imperial- 
ists ; the other, the plan of even greater liberality ad- 
vocated by the Third Party. The election of 1869, in 
which only four votes on the average were cast for 
the official candidates as compared with three votes 
for the opposition, decided Napoleon to adopt the 
plan of the Third Party. By a Senatus Consultum of 
September 1869, supplemented by another of April 
1870, the political system of the Empire was radically 
changed. The Corps Legislatif was given the right to 
choose its own officers, make its own rules, initiate 
legislation, and demand explanations of the ministers, 
who were made responsible. On the second of January 
1870, Ollivier was made head of the ministry, and was 
supported by a majority in the Chamber. Ollivier 
told the Emperor that he could assure him a "happy 
old age," and his son a quiet succession to the throne. 

Napoleon, in accordance with his custom, now 
sought the approval of the nation to the new Con- 
stitution, which had been so profoundly altered dur- 
ing the past ten years. He believed that the popular 
vote would once more consolidate his power, and 

C2323 



HOME AFFAIRS 

put him in a position to dominate easily the hostile 
element which had lately become so aggressive. The 
people were asked to vote on the proposition: "The 
French nation approves the liberal reforms made in 
the Constitution since i860, and ratifies the Senatus 
Consultum of the 20 April 1870." Following this was 
printed the Constitution in full, assuring among 
other things the transmission of the Imperial dignity 
in the direct line of Napoleon the Third. 

The plebiscite took place the 8 May 1870, and 
resulted in an overwhelming vote in favor of the 
Empire ; nearly seven and a half millions voted yes, 
only a million and a half voted no. The Emperor could 
claim that he had lost no supporters since the day 
that the Empire was approved eighteen years before. 
The Empire seemed solidly reestablished in the con- 
fidence of the country, and the Republican party 
absolutely discredited, yet its triumph was near. 
In less than three months the Empire entered upon 
the Prussian war, in the midst of which it utterly 
collapsed, and was succeeded by the Third Republic, 
which after fifty years, to-day, seems stronger than 
ever. 



C233] 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN 

1860-1866 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

The Syrian Massacres — Napoleon's Letter to Palmerston — 
Limited Results of the Expedition — The Chinese War — • 
— The French and English Forces — Battle of Palikao — 
Destruction of the Summer Palace — Treaty of Pekin — 
The Mexican War — Ulterior Plans of Napoleon — The 
Mexican Empire — Maxmilian and Carlotta — With- 
drawal of the French Army — Execution of Maximilian — 
Blow to Napoleon's Prestige — Plans for German Unity — 
Rise of Bismarck — The Schleswig-Holstein Question — 
The Biarritz Conference — The Italian Alliance — The 
Seven Weeks' War — Victory of Sadowa — North German 
Confederation 

AT the time the clergy were condemning the 
Emperor's attitude regarding the Church, 
it pleased him to renew the Crusades, by 
sending his troops to the aid of the Christians in the 
Ottoman Empire. This act immediately aroused the 
jealous susceptibilities of England. It is not easy now 
to understand the change in the feelings of Queen 
Victoria regarding her close ally in the Crimea, of 
whom she spoke and wrote in such friendly terms only 
a few years before. It was probably due to the influ- 
ence of her consort. Prince Albert, who was always a 
German at heart, and who had undoubtedly been 
affected by the German propaganda which was al- 
ready working to undermine the immense prestige of 
the Emperor. He was regarded as the greatest foe of 

C2343 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

German unity, and it was a part of the plan of Bis- 
marck to remove this obstacle from his path. Hence 
no stone was left unturned to detach Napoleon from 
his former allies, and to arouse against him the 
enmity of the South German States. 

The sending of French troops to Syria was regarded 
in London as a mere cover to designs for conquest 
in the East, and for a future attack upon England's 
Indian Empire. 

Napoleon had not the slightest desire of acting 
alone in Syria, and had instructed Persigny, his Am- 
bassador at London, to secure the cooperation of the 
English Government. He wrote: "Tell Lord Palmer- 
ston from me that since the Peace of Villafranca I 
have had but one thought, one end in view, namely, 
to inaugurate a new era of peace, and live on good 
terms with my neighbors, and especially with Eng- 
land. I had given up Savoy and Nice, and the only 
thing that revived my wish to see provinces essen- 
tially French restored to France was the extraordinary 
growth of Piedmont." 

He then referred to the massacres in Syria, which 
had filled him with indignation, and continued: 
"All the same, my first thought was to act with 
England. What interest save that of humanity could 
induce me to send troops into that country.? Could 
the possession of it possibly increase my power?" 

In conclusion the Emperor expressed his desire to 
come to terms with England, not only in Syria, but 
in Italy. "It has been difficult for me," he said, "to 
agree with England in reference to Central Italy, 
because I was bound by the Treaty of Villafranca; 

C23S] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

as to southern Italy, I am unpledged, and I ask 
nothing better than to act with England on that 
point as on others; but for Heaven's sake, let the 
eminent men at the head of the English Government 
lay aside mean jealousies and unjust suspicions. Let 
us come to a loyal understanding like the honest men 
we are and not act like thieves who want to cheat 
each other. I desire that Italy may be appeased, no 
matter how, but without foreign intervention, and 
that my troops may leave Rome without endangering 
the safety of the Pope." 

This remarkably clever letter created a great sen- 
sation when published in the English press. Napoleon 
attained his ends. The five Great Powers and the 
Porte, in conference at Paris, came to an agreement 
on all points. It was arranged that a body of 12,000 
troops should be sent to Syria, of which number the 
French Government undertook to provide at once 
the moiety. 

The Syrian expeditionary corps, of some six thou- 
sand men, embarked at Marseille, and landed at 
Beyrout on the 16 August. Owing to lack of coopera- 
tion on the part of the Turkish forces, the chief result 
aimed at by the expedition was completely missed, 
and the Druses, who were responsible for the massa- 
cres, were allowed to escape through the Turkish 
lines just when they were supposed to be surrounded 
on all sides. After this the French resolved to act 
alone. 

Although the military results of the expedition 
were very limited, in a humanitarian way great 
good was accomplished. Under the shelter of the 

1:2363 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

French flag, houses were rebuilt, villages repopulated 
and confidence restored. Food and seed-corn were dis- 
tributed and building materials furnished. The French 
soldiers were acclaimed as liberators and saviours. 

In i860, a French corps, under General de Mon- 
tauban, successfully carried out in the Farthest East 
an enterprise which rivalled the famous exploits of 
Cortez and Pizarro in the New World. 

The causes of conflict in China dated back for sev- 
eral years. In 1855, a French missionary had been 
tortured and put to death. The following year a small 
vessel carrying the British flag had been captured by 
the Chinese. In 1857, the fleets of France and England 
bombarded Canton, and, in 1858, forced the defences 
of the river Pei-Ho and sailed up the stream to a point 
about a hundred miles from Pekin. China decided 
to come to terms and a very favorable treaty was 
negotiated. 

The following year when the ministers of France 
and England were on their way to Pekin to exchange 
the ratifications of the treaty, their vessel was fired 
on at the mouth of the river and many of their escort 
were disabled. Such an outrage could not go unpun- 
ished, and after active negotiations extending over 
two months, it was decided to send a joint French 
and English expeditionary force, of some 30,000 
men, to wreak a signal vengeance on the Chinese. 

Trochu, who had distinguished himself at Sol- 
ferino, having declined the chief command, at the 
suggestion of Fleury, it was given to Montauban. 
This general, born in 1796, retained at the age of 

C 237 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

sixty-three all the vigor of youth. He was not only a 
brilliant soldier but also a skilled diplomatist. 

The French corps embarked at Toulon in Decem- 
ber 1859 and sailed for China by the long route around 
Cape Good Hope, while the general and his staff 
left a month later by way of Egypt, and reached 
Hong-Kong early in. March, before the arrival of 
the troops. 

After reducing the forts at the mouth of the river 
the first week in August, the Allies resumed their 
march on Pekin, overcoming a formidable resistance 
all the way. Early in September they reached the large 
city of Tung-Chau only four leagues from Pekin, and 
connected with that city by a road built by former 
dynasties. At the village of Palikao this road crosses 
the canal by means of a solid stone bridge with large 
arches. Beyond this bridge, on ground long studied 
and made ready in advance, was drawn up the Chi- 
nese army of over 50,000 men. To oppose this large 
force the Allies had only 10,000 troops, about half 
French and half English. The battle began at seven 
o'clock in the morning, and by noon-day resulted 
in the complete defeat of the Chinese. For this vic- 
tory Montauban received the grand cross of the 
Legion d'honneur, a seat in the Senate and the title 
of Comte de Palikao. 

The results of the battle bordered on the miracu- 
lous. Only three French and two English were killed, 
and less than fifty were wounded in the two armies. 

After a delay of two weeks, to bring up food and 
ammunition, the Allies on the fifth of October resumed 
their march on Pekin. Learning that the Tartar 

1:238] 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

army had withdrawn in the direction of the Summer 
Palace, a magnificent imperial residence some kilo- 
metres to the northwest of the capital, they decided 
to pursue it. Crossing a magnificent bridge thrown 
over the canal, they advanced by a road paved with 
granite to an esplanade much resembling the Place 
d'Armes at Versailles. Just beyond was the famous 
Summer Palace, the favorite residence of the Em- 
peror, and surpassing in splendor any dreams of the 
imagination. In his report, the French commander 
said that it was impossible to describe the magnifi- 
cence of the numerous buildings of white marble 
filled with curiosities of all kinds, in gold, silver and 
bronze, the accumulations of centuries. 

The park, surrounded by lofty walls nearly nine 
miles in length, was not less extraordinary than the 
palace. 

On the arrival of the English, a division of the 
booty was made between the allied chiefs. A selec- 
tion of the most remarkable objects, which was sent 
to the Emperor, was afterwards exhibited in the palace 
of Fontainebleau in a room known as the Chinese 
Museum. A similar collection was sent to Queen 
Victoria. 

On the 9 October the Allies left the Summer Palace 
and turned towards Pekin. Having learned of the 
horrible manner in which some French and English 
captives had been tortured and put to death by the 
Chinese, the English Commissioner, Lord Elgin, 
ordered the Summer Palace razed to the ground and 
burned. This hastened the conclusion of the peace, as 
the Chinese feared the destruction of their capital. 

112393 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

By the Treaty of Pekin an indemnity of sixty mil- 
lion francs was paid to France, and as much to Eng- 
land. Important religious and commercial privileges 
were granted throughout the Empire. 

The Allied Army left Pekin on the first of Novem- 
ber, to return to Europe after one of the most mar- 
velous expeditions recorded in history. 

In October 1861, France, England and Spain signed 
a treaty at London agreeing to send a joint expedi- 
tion to Mexico for the purpose of obtaining repara- 
tion for certain grievances which these three powers 
had against Mexico, for the unjust treatment of their 
citizens resident there, and to secure the payment of 
interest, which the Mexican Government had sus- 
pended, on bonds held abroad. 

The Liberals, the partisans of Juarez, had confis- 
cated the lands and property of the clergy, which 
were of very great value, and one of the principal 
objects of the Mexican Expedition, on the part of 
France, was to recover and restore these to their 
rightful owners. This was a factor much more im- 
portant than the recovery of the money due from 
Mexico to French investors, as it was believed that 
it would decidely ease the strained relations between 
the Vatican and the Tuileries due to the results of 
the war of Italian Independence. 

The expedition which was sent out arrived in 
Mexico in December and January, and by April 
1862 had practically accomplished its purpose. Eng- 
land and Spain then withdrew, but it was clear by 
this time that France had other objects in view. 

112403 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Napoleon's real intentions were apparently to over- 
throw the Republic, of which Juarez was President, 
and to establish a monarchy under a European prince. 
At the instigation of the Empress and the Catholic 
party in France, Napoleon had embarked on another 
enterprise, the most unnecessary, the most reckless, 
and, in the end, the most disastrous of his reign. 
He undertook to erect an empire five thousand miles 
away, in a country of which he knew but little, 
whose political institutions for half a century had 
been in a state of flux. This enterprise was to 
prove as costly and as disastrous to France as the 
equally dishonorable invasion of Spain by the First 
Emperor. 

While a prisoner at Ham, Napoleon had written 
a pamphlet on the subject of a canal at Nicaragua to 
connect the Atlantic and the Pacific. The subject had 
then taken possession of his imagination and he had 
never forgotten it. He had dreamed of a new Con- 
stantinople to arise in the Western World, to be the 
seat of a great Latin Empire which should hold in 
check the Anglo-Saxon element. The theory of 
nationalities would thus win another victory. By 
the expedition he might also win back the favor of 
the Catholic Church which had a grievance against 
the Mexican Government for its action in sequester- 
ing the property of the Church. 

An assembly representing only a small fraction of 
the Mexican people was called together by the French 
commander, and a decree was passed declaring Mex- 
ico an empire, and offering the crown to Archduke 
Maximilian of Austria, a brother of the Emperor 

C 241 ] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Francis Joseph. Influenced by his own ambition 
and that of his spirited wife, Carlotta, daughter of 
Leopold the First of Belgium, he accepted the crown, 
and arrived in Mexico in May 1864. 

The entire project was hopeless from the start, 
disastrous alike to the new sovereigns and to Napo- 
leon. When the Civil War was ended in April 1865, 
the United States, which considered the whole affair 
as a flagrant violation of the Monroe Doctrine, threat- 
ened intervention. General Webb, of New York, 
who was in Paris at the time, took the matter up with 
the Emperor, and Napoleon agreed to withdraw his 
troops. Carlotta went to Europe to beg the Emperor 
to reconsider his decision, and, on his refusal, became 
insane. The Empire of Mexico could not long endure 
without the support of French bayonets. Maximilian 
was taken prisoner, and shot by the Mexicans 19 
June 1867. So vanished Napoleon's phantom empire 
across the seas. 

It was a most expensive enterprise for the French 
Emperor. It had prevented his playing a part in the 
decisive events in Europe during the years 1864 to 
1866, which saw the rise of the powerful and aggres- 
sive military organization of Prussia. The French 
military reverses in 1862, the first of his reign, and 
the tragic end of Maximilian, whom he had left to 
his fate, had seriously damaged his prestige in Europe. 
Without any benefit to France, he had recklessly 
squandered his military and financial resources. 

The war of 1859 and the establishment of Italian 
unity exerted a remarkable influence outside of the 

C2423 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Peninsula, and nowhere more than in Germany. 
Here was a successful application of the principle of 
nationalities. What had been accomplished in Italy 
was also possible in Germany. A new patriotic society 
was formed in Hungary, called the National Union, 
whose object was to "achieve the unity of the father- 
land and the development of its liberties." This 
society soon spread throughout Germany. Its purpose 
was to secure a thorough military reorganization of 
Germany as a safeguard against external aggression. 
If Napoleon could invade Italy, he might just as 
easily turn his arms against Germany. William of 
Prussia and Bismarck ought to do for Germany what 
Victor Emmanuel of Piedmont and Cavour had done 
for Italy. Through the war of 1870, German unity 
was brought about, but it was along autocratic lines, 
and not, as in the case of Italy, by a liberal move- 
ment. Bismarck was a very different character from 
Cavour. 

In January 1861, Frederick William the Fourth of 
Prussia died, and was succeeded by his brother 
William, who had been acting as Regent for four 
years. He was a son of the famous Queen Louisa, 
was born in 1797, and had seen his first military serv- 
ice in the campaign of 18 14 against Napoleon. In 
character, he was slow, solid, persistent and firm, 
rather than brilliant or intellectual. His entire life 
had been spent in the army, to which he was devoted, 
and his first act was to strengthen the military or- 
ganization of Prussia. 

Prussia, in 18 14, had been the first state, and was 
thus far the only one, to adopt the principle of uni- 

C2433 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

versal military service. But the system had not been 
thoroughly carried out, and the size of the army 
had not kept pace with the growth of the population. 
William had appointed Roon Minister of War in 1859, 
and the following year a plan was submitted to the 
Prussian Parliament for a thorough reorganization 
of the army, and the rigorous enforcement of uni- 
versal military service, which would at once double 
the size of the Prussian army. Parliament, however, 
refused to make the necessary appropriations, and a 
deadlock ensued. The King would not abandon his 
plans, and even thought of abdicating. As a last re- 
sort he decided to call to the ministry a man noted 
for his force, and his devotion to the monarchy. Otto 
von Bismarck. He was made President of the Minis- 
try 23 September 1862, and on that day began a new 
era for Prussia and the world. 

Bismarck told the King that he would carry out 
his policy whether the Deputies agreed to it or not. 
The King tore up his abdication and the struggle 
went on. For four years the Lower House refused to 
pass the budget, and the King continued to collect 
the taxes, and carry out his reorganization of the 
army. The period was one of virtual dictatorship. 

But in Bismarck*s eyes, the army was only a means 
to an end, and that end was German unity, which he 
believed could only be secured by war. There was to 
be no absorption of Prussia by Germany, as Piedmont 
had been merged in the Kingdom of Italy, entirely 
disappearing as a separate state. Unity was to be 
created by Prussia, and for the advantage of Prussia. 
In the most famous speech of his life, in 1863, Bis- 

n 244 3 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

marck declared that the great questions of the day 
would be decided not by speeches and majority 
votes but "by blood and iron." 

Ignoring the criticisms of the Liberals, Bismarck 
went on his way, and proceeded to reshape Europe 
in accordance with his plans. Like the Great Napo- 
leon he was favored in this by the jealousies of the 
Great Powers and the general incompetence of their 
ministers. His own ability, great as it was, would 
not alone have sufficed to accomplish the work of the 
next few years. 

"The German Empire," says Hazen, "was the re- 
sult of the policy of blood and iron as carried out by 
Prussia in three wars which were crowded into the 
brief period of six years, the war with Denmark in 
1864, with Austria in 1866, and with France in 1870, 
the last two of which were largely the result of his will, 
and his diplomatic ingenuity and unscrupulousness, 
and the first of which he exploited consummately for 
the advantage of Prussia." 

It does not fall within the scope of this narrative 
to describe the first of these wars, which grew out of 
one of the most complicated questions that ever 
perplexed statesmen, the "affair of the duchies," 
Schleswig and Holstein. As one of the results of the 
Great War, the wrong done to Denmark by Prussia 
in the forcible annexation of the two duchies has in 
1920 been at least in part rectified by the plebiscite 
under which the northern part of Schleswig returns 
to Denmark, while the southern part, and Holstein, 
remain German. The action of Prussia was in direct 
contravention to Napoleon's famous doctrine of na- 

1:2453 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

tionalities, but he failed to intervene. A conference 
was held at London, for the purpose of arranging 
a settlement by diplomacy, but nothing was accom- 
plished. Russia was grateful for Prussian aid in the 
recent Polish insurrection, and France and England 
were unable to agree upon any policy. 

Out of the settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein 
affair, as arranged between Prussia and Austria by 
the Treaty of Gastein, there was created a situation 
which Bismarck hoped would result in a war between 
the two countries. He had desired this war for ten 
years, as being the only means by which Prussia 
could assume the dominating position in German 
affairs — the first step towards German unity. In this 
he was successful within a year. 

There was not room in Germany for two first-class 
powers, and either Austria or Prussia must bend the 
knee. Bismarck's first care was to assure the isolation 
of Austria in the coming conflict. The attitude of 
France he considered most important. He therefore, 
in October 1865, sought an interview with the Em- 
peror at Biarritz in southern France. This meeting 
has sometimes been described, although incorrectly, 
as bearing the same relation to German unity as the 
conference at Plombieres to Italian independence. 
What actually occurred is not known even to-day. 
There seems to have been no formal agreement, but 
Bismarck apparently held out the hope to Napoleon 
that, in case of a Prussian victory, and any increase 
of territory, France would receive compensation for 
its neutrality by the annexation of Luxembourg and 
some of the Catholic German states along the Rhine. 

[2463 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Napoleon was too honest to deal with such an adroit 
trickster as Bismarck, and seems to have been com- 
pletely duped. Whatever the understanding may have 
been, Bismarck returned to Berlin with the conviction 
that France would remain neutral in case of war be- 
tween Prussia and Austria. 

Bismarck's next step was to negotiate a treaty of 
alliance with Italy. After several months of diplo- 
matic maneuvers a treaty was finally signed in April 
1866 which provided that in case Prussia went to 
war with Austria during the next three months, Italy 
should also declare war, and that if the Allies were 
successful Italy should receive Venetia, and Prussia 
an equivalent amount of Austrian territory. 

As soon as this treaty was signed, Bismarck de- 
voted all his energies to bringing about the war with 
Austria. This was not difficult, but there was a delay 
of several weeks before hostilities actually began, as 
he was waiting for some act of provocation to come 
from Austria so that he could throw upon her the 
odium of beginning this conflict between two German 
nations. At last the moment came and the German 
civil war began. It proved to be one of the shortest 
and most decisive in history. It began on the 16 June 
1866, and was virtually decided by the brilliant vic- 
tory of Sadowa on the 3 July, although hostilities 
continued until the signing of the preliminary Peace 
of Nikolsburg on 26 July. It is therefore called the 
Seven Weeks' War. 

The rapidity of the campaign and the overwhelm^ 
ing superiority of Prussia struck Europe with amaze- 
ment. No one was more surprised than the Emperor 

C 247 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Napoleon. He had expected a long war, exhausting 
to both parties, with a final victory for Austria, and 
was laying his plans to step in at the decisive moment 
and secure the reward of his friendly services in bring- 
ing the conflict to an end. 

Bismarck, who feared the intervention of France, 
which might rob the victory of its fruits, wished to 
make peace at once, and preclude any chance of in- 
tervention. He therefore proposed terms very lenient 
to Austria. His moderation, according to the account 
which he gives in his memoirs, was very bitterly op- 
posed by the military party, but he finally carried 
the day. Austria ceded Venetia to Italy, but lost no 
other territory. She paid a small indemnity, and 
withdrew from the German Confederation, which 
ceased to exist. A new confederation was formed of 
the states north of the river Main. 

Prussia took her compensation from those German 
states which had fought on the side of Austria In the 
war. Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Cassel, the free city of 
Frankfort, as well as Schleswig and Holstein, were 
incorporated In the Prussian Kingdom, which was 
thereby increased about one-quarter in area and in 
population. No opportunity was given the people 
of these states to vote on the question of annexa- 
tion as had been done In Italy, and in Savoy and 
Nice. They were annexed by right of military con- 
quest. By orders from Berlin, reigning houses ceased 
to rule. The balance of power and the map of Europe 
were changed without a single protest being made. 

Napoleon was not In a position to Intervene, even 
if he had had the time. With many of his best troops 

C 248 3 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

involved in the Mexican expedition, he was unable 
to mobilize even two army corps on the Rhine. The 
Czar proposed a congress to settle the terms of peace, 
but Bismarck assumed so hostile an attitude that the 
matter was dropped. 

The new North German Confederation, which was 
now formed, included two Kingdoms, Prussia and 
Saxony, and twenty smaller states. The armies of the 
several states were reorganized on the Prussian model. 
King William, as President of the Confederation, 
now commanded a force of 800,000 men. The South 
German states, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg and Baden, 
were induced by Bismarck, through playing on their 
fears of France, to enter into a defensive military 
alliance with the Confederation. This increased the 
army to over a million men. Against this powerful 
organization France could only put 350,000 men in 
line of battle. The European nations were to repent 
most bitterly at a later day the fatuity with which they 
allowed the swift consummation of these changes. 



C2493 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
1860-1870 
DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

Incapacity of the Government in External Affairs — The Peace 
of Villafranca — The Mexican War — The Rise of Prussia 
— Alienation of the Church of Rome — Meddling of the 
Empress — The AflFair of Schleswig-Holstein — The Seven 
Weeks' War — Army Reorganization — Napoleon's Las- 
situde — His Poor Health — Reasons for the Constitutional 
Changes — The Popular Approval — Negative Votes of 
the Army — The Hohenzollern Candidature — The Fa- 
mous Ems Dispatch — Bismarck's Duplicity — France 
Declares War 

IN i860 Napoleon had made France rich beyond 
any nation in Europe, and Paris was without 
rival among the capitals of the world. But all 
the benefits which he had conferred upon his country 
were destined to be neutralized, during the last ten 
years of his reign, by the notorious incapacity of his 
Government in external affairs. 

There was a period of modern history when France, 
under Napoleon, occupied without question the fore- 
most position in Europe. She was envied, respected 
and feared by every other nation. In the years im- 
mediately following the Crimean War this preemi- 
nence was acknowledged, or tacitly accepted, by all 
the other Powers. At this time Bismarck, and his mas- 
ter the King of Prussia, so far from attempting to over- 
awe Europe, meekly solicited from the Emperor of 

C^so] 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

the French the privilege of sending a representative 
to the Congress of Paris. At the same time, Austria, 
the rival of Prussia for supremacy in Germany, 
was anxiously seeking for an expression of his good- 
will. 

The first grave blow to the prestige of the French 
Empire was inflicted by the Truce of Villafranca, 
when Napoleon, in the full tide of success, suddenly 
paused, upon a threat of Prussian intervention, and con- 
cluded a peace which was visibly imposed upon him. 

The withdrawal of his troops from Mexico, when 
the victorious American army was mobilized upon 
the Rio Grande at the close of the Civil War, and the 
ruin of the ambitious project which he had formed 
of founding a great Catholic Empire across the seas, 
also sensibly contributed to lessen the popular im- 
pression of his power. Deeply involved in this un- 
fortunate Mexican affair, with many of his best 
generals and soldiers thousands of miles from home, 
he was unable to take advantage of the opportunity 
afforded by the Seven Weeks' War to recover his lost 
prestige ; and the sudden and unexpected collapse of 
Austria, after the Prussian victory of Sadowa, ended 
his last chance of curbing the rising power of the 
Hohenzollern monarchy. 

Another blow to his supremacy was given by his 
fruitless efforts to secure from the wily Bismarck, 
by diplomacy, the advantages which he had failed 
to demand by force. By his requests for compensa- 
tion on the side of Luxembourg, or along the left 
bank of the Rhine, he simply played into the hands of 
the great Prussian Minister, who at the decisive 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

moment published the details of these negotiations 
and assured the support of the South German States 
in the war of 1870, while at the same time alienating 
the sympathy, and securing the neutrality, of Eng- 
land and the other Great Powers. 

For the satisfaction of intervening in the affairs 
of Europe, even where he was not directly interested, 
he engaged in many unnecessary undertakings in 
which he dissipated his resources without any com- 
pensating advantages. Such was the unfortunate 
Roman affair. By his participation in the war of 
Italian Independence he lost the suffrage of a million 
or two of his Catholic subjects, who had previously 
been his strongest supporters, and then by attempting 
to preserve the remnant of the temporal power of the 
Papacy, he alienated the great majority of the Italian 
people, and forfeited the feeling of gratitude for what 
he had done, without, on the other hand, regaining 
the support of the Church. To the end of his reign, 
he was destined to feel the unfortunate effect of this 
double-faced policy. There is much evidence that 
Napoleon fully realized the mistake he had made, 
and that on several occasions he had practically de- 
cided to recall his troops from Rome, but was dis- 
suaded from his purpose by the vehement protests 
of the Empress, who warmly pleaded the cause of the 
Holy Father. So Napoleon, partly from dislike of with- 
drawing from an undertaking which he had begun, 
more perhaps from the desire of keeping peace in his 
family, sufficiently troubled already by his notorious 
infidelities, yielded to the ardent wishes of his spouse. 

At this point it becomes necessary to speak frankly 
C2523 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

of a subject which many writers ignore, for in no 
other way is it possible to understand clearly the 
external policies of Napoleon during the last ten years 
of his reign. 

All his life, he had been particularly susceptible to 
the charms of women, and the Empress Eugenie had 
much cause for complaint on this score. For his wife 
he displayed at all times a very warm attachment 
and a very sincere admiration. This is shown in the 
familiar letters which he wrote her during the few 
periods of their separation, and in his wish to asso- 
ciate her with himself on every occasion of parade 
or of ceremony. 

With the First Napoleon, acts of gallantry were 
rare and distant, and never in any way or at any time 
interfered with affairs of state or war. With the 
nephew, on .the other hand, such acts were continual. 
Over and over again he promised to trouble no longer 
the tranquillity of the Empress, only to yield again to 
temptation. 

Inconstancy was a tradition in the family, and 
unfortunately for Napoleon the Third, to the tenden- 
cies of the Bonapartes was joined the warm Creole 
blood which Hortense had inherited from her mother 
Josephine. 

An interesting incident is told as illustrating this 
family trait: the history of a certain medallion. It 
was a superb ornament which had belonged to the 
First Emperor, and which bore on one of its faces the 
portrait of Marie-Louise. In some manner which is 
not explained, this medallion had come into the 
possession of Prince Demidoff at Florence. One day a 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

servant in dusting the precious article moved the glass 
covering, which became detached, revealing the fact 
that beneath the miniature of the Empress there 
was another, of Madame Walewska, and below that, 
still a third, of Mademoiselle Georges. A very nest 
of Imperial loves was enclosed in the same medallion. 
The Third Napoleon would certainly have found 
much difficulty in enclosing in a single case even a 
small selection of his numerous charmers. 

There is every reason to believe that up to the 
last moment Napoleon had no idea of placing Made- 
moiselle de Monti jo by his side on the Imperial 
throne. There is a French proverb which bids men 
to beware of the young girl who has had a travelling 
trunk for a cradle, and a table d'hote for a finishing 
school. For ten years, Madame de Montijo and her 
daughter had travelled from one European resort to 
another in search of the ever elusive husband. The 
fame of Eugenie's beauty had spread through many 
lands, but, though many sought the pleasure of her 
society, none aspired to the honor of her hand. The 
Countess and her daughter had persistently disre- 
garded the last of the three precepts laid down by 
Beaumarchais for woman's guidance: "Sois belle si 
tu peux, sage si tu veux, mais sois consideree, il le 
faut." They had failed to inspire respect, and if Napo- 
leon considered Mademoiselle de Montijo in the light 
of a consort it was "de la main gauche." But the 
Countess and her daughter were playing for higher 
stakes, and the Infatuated monarch was soon given 
to understand that the way to Eugenie's heart lay 
"through the Chapel." 

C 254 3 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

Fascinated by the mature charms of the lovely 
Spaniard, who had long since "coiffee Sainte-Cathe- 
rine," charmed with the grace and spirit of her letters, 
which were composed for her by Prosper Merimee, 
disappointed at the failure of all his matrimonial 
overtures to the European Courts, Napoleon suddenly 
decided to startle the world by one of those dramatic 
strokes so dear to his heart, and announced his ap- 
proaching marriage to Eugenie. A week later, the 
ceremony was performed. 

In its disastrous effects upon the future of the 
Imperial dynasty, this was the worst of the many 
steps taken by the Emperor without stopping to con- 
sider fully the consequences. Eugenie was a woman of 
small natural intelligence, of very limited and super- 
ficial education, not only a devout but a bigoted 
Catholic, and her constant meddling in the external 
affairs of France, especially where the interests of the 
Papacy were even remotely concerned, led to the most 
deplorable results. 

In the interests of conjugal peace, and to satisfy 
the insistent demands of the Empress, during the 
latter part of his reign Napoleon gave Eugenie a 
greater and greater part in public affairs. Matters 
came to such a point that she attended, at first only 
occasionally, but towards the end, regularly, the 
Council of Ministers at the Tuileries, and took an 
active part in the discussions. She had urged the 
first war of the Empire, against Russia, because she 
desired to secure in Queen Victoria a social sponsor 
whom she badly needed. To the war of Italian Inde- 
pendence she was violently opposed, as she feared 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the result on the temporal power of the Papacy. 
Later, she insisted on keeping the French troops in 
Rome, and thereby alienated from France her warm- 
est friend and ally. She heartily approved of the un- 
fortunate Mexican Expedition; and after England 
and Spain had withdrawn from the enterprise, she 
advocated the policy of keeping the French troops 
in Mexico, for the purpose of founding a Catholic 
Empire across the seas. The final disastrous war 
against Prussia, which she called "ma guerre a moi," 
she precipitated for the purpose of saving the totter- 
ing throne of her husband for her son the Prince Im- 
perial. 

Mt has been claimed in defence of the Empress that 
she was ignorant of the dangerous state of the Em- 
peror's health and did not know of the consultation 
held at Saint-Cloud the first day of July 1870; but if 
she had any powers of observation at all, she must 
have been struck, like every one else, with the hag- 
gard appearance of the Emperor as he walked by her 
side along the platform of the private station in the 
park to take his seat in the train, the day he left for 
the front. The disastrous results of her interference 
in the operations of the campaign will be spoken of 
later. 

Napoleon, all his life, was a firm believer in the 
principle of nationalities, or the right of every people 
to determine its own destiny, which has received such 
general recognition as one of the results of the Great 
War, which has just convulsed the world. In this 
respect he was in advance of public opinion in every 
country of Europe, and his attempts in this direction 

n2s6a 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

in the end were turned fatally against him. Such was 
the Italian war, undertaken to free the Peninsula 
from the yoke of Austria, in which he was compelled 
to stop short before the undisguised menace of the 
Prussian corps upon the Rhine. 

Later, in 1863, in obedience to the same sentiment, 
he gave his moral, if not his material support, to the 
Poles who had risen against the oppression of Russia. 
The insurrection failed, and he only succeeded in 
offending the Czar, without helping the rebels. Once 
more he had been moved by sentiment, while Bis- 
marck seized the occasion to take the side of force, 
and thereby won the gratitude of the Czar, and alien- 
ated his sympathy from France. The result was to 
appear a few years later, when France looked in vain 
for support against the German menace. 

In 1864, without protest, he allowed Prussia and 
Austria to take possession of Schleswig-Holstein, and 
two years later he stood by impotently while Prussia 
crushed her former ally in the short Seven Weeks* 
War. 

At the same time that the Imperial Government 
was losing prestige abroad, it was having great diffi- 
culties at home. The opposition, still small in num- 
bers, but strong in ability, had taken full advantage 
of the new freedom granted the Chambers and the 
press, and was making its voice heard. In the vain 
hope of regaining at least in part the popularity 
which he had lost by his weak foreign policy, the 
Emperor had abandoned to the Corps Legislatif a 
part of his authority, and had laid the foundations 
of the "Liberal Empire." 

C2573 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Even before the Italian war the Emperor had 
fully realized the necessity of a complete reorgani- 
zation of the French army and the adoption of the 
principle of universal mihtary service. On several 
occasions the project was submitted to the Chambers, 
but no action was taken. France, like England before 
the Great War, was absorbed in the pursuit of wealth, 
and blind to the danger of aggression from the great 
military power of Germany. That Napoleon had 
ample warning of his danger is shown by reports 
found later among the archives of the Tuileries, re- 
ports from French agents in all the capitals of Europe, 
as well as repeated letters of advice from Queen 
Sophie of Holland, an able woman, who was better 
informed regarding European affairs than most of 
the diplomats. 

In 1866 General Ducrot wrote to General Trochu 
that on the other side of the Rhine there was not a 
German who did not believe in an approaching war 
with France. 

The debate on the army bill of 1869 lasted two 
days: the first and second of July. The reduction 
of the army was justified by the Prime Minister, 
Monsieur Ollivier, who said, "The Government has 
no uneasiness whatever; at no epoch was the peace 
of Europe more assured. Irritating questions there 
are none." In the House of Lords, Lord Granville 
about the same time described foreign affairs as in a 
''dead calm." In the course of the debate in the 
French Chamber, Thiers remarked with singular 
fatuity: "Prussia requires to be pacific in order to 
win over Southern Germany. We need to be pacific 

n 258 : 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

in order to prevent her." At the moment these words 
were spoken, the man of "blood and iron," in the 
quiet of his cabinet, was preparing to spring upon an 
unsuspecting Europe the candidacy of the Prince 
of Hohenzollern, and to accomplish the unity of 
Germany, not by pacific measures, but by one of the 
most unnecessary wars in the history of Europe. 

And yet the Emperor had shown only pacific and 
friendly intentions towards Prussia from the begin- 
ning of his reign. Faithful to his idea of nationalities, 
he had rather favored than opposed German unifi- 
cation. His sympathies had always rather Inclined 
towards the race which was destined to overthrow 
him. Prussia, however, had always been secretly jeal- 
ous of France and her preeminence in Europe, and cov- 
ertly hostile towards the Emperor. While Napo- 
leon was credulous, Bismarck was unscrupulous; he 
lost no opportunity of arousing the Prussian spirit 
of antagonism to France. 

Several times the Emperor appealed to the coun- 
try and, by the voice of his Minister of War, Marshal 
Niel, tried to arouse the patriotism of the Chambers 
and persuade them to take the necessary steps to 
provide for the national defence. But he only met 
with a blind opposition, which refused to see any 
danger in the political situation, and called for a 
reduction rather than an increase in the army. Napo- 
leon, who had abandoned much of his former auto- 
cratic power, was no longer in a position to insist, 
and, worn out mentally and physically, he abandoned 
the struggle and allowed the Ship of State to drift 
slowly upon the rocks. The day had passed, when, 

C2S9 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

full of strength and courage, he acted without await- 
ing the counsel of ministers and inspired respect and 
fear on all sides. He was overcome by lassitude both 
physical and moral. His former vigor, and tenacity 
of purpose, had been weakened by the ravages of a 
most painful disease, and he no longer possessed the 
\capacity of decision and command, which in the past 
had brushed aside all obstacles. He had allowed the 
Empress to take a greater and greater part in the 
councils of the Government and to commit him to 
actions and policies directly opposed to the true 
interests of his country and his dynasty. It was only 
too evident to all observers that he was no longer 
the master in his own house. The situation was 
further aggravated by the divergent opinions of the 
-Empress, of Rouher and of Prince Napoleon, and 
personal rivalries added to the difficulties of contra- 
dictory views. The government no longer had a single 
guiding force, and, under such conditions, disaster 
was inevitable. A firm and experienced hand at the 
lielm was never so necessary as during this critical 
period of modern European history. 

Very few people knew of the state of the Emperor's 
Iiealth, and realized the condition of moral apathy 
which it had caused. He concealed his pain and never 
made any complaints, but he had almost entirely lost 
the combative faculty and the power of resistance 
which had carried him triumphantly through the 
trying days of the coup d'etat. It is impossible to 
understand clearly the decline of the French Empire 
in the ten years immediately preceding the Franco- 
Prussian war without taking into consideration the 

n26o3 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE: 

state of Napoleon's health, of which the world was^ 
generally ignorant at the time, and which even since 
then has been generally ignored by his historians. 

Many reasons had combined to lead him to give to 
France a constitutional regime: the sincere desire of 
"crowning the edifice," of which he had written in 
the "Napoleonic Ideas"; the thought that he was 
thereby conferring a real benefit upon his country;: 
a desire to regain his lost popularity, which deeply- 
affected him, and the moral and physical lassitude 
which rendered him powerless longer to bear alone 
the cares of government. 

At first he had no reason to regret his action. As 
often occurs immediately preceding the violence of a 
tropical storm, the Second Empire enjoyed a brief 
period of calm, when the sun seemed to shine brighter 
and clearer than ever before, and the future of his 
dynasty seemed to be assured. The Liberal Empire 
appeared to have entered upon a long course of pros- 
perity, which seemed to be confirmed by the striking 
success of the Exhibition of 1867. 

In May 1870 the question of the adoption of the 
changes in the Constitution was submitted to the 
French people, and received a triumphant approval. 
All the clouds which obscured the horizon seemed 
sv/ept away by the strong breeze of liberal opinion. 
Yet, only two months later, like a clap of thunder 
from a clear sky, came the disastrous German war, 
which in the short period of six weeks was to sweep 
his dynasty from the throne of France. 

To the first feeling of exultation over the result of 
the popular vote had succeeded a vague inquietude — 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

What was the significance of the fifty thousand nega- 
tive votes of the Army ? This detail had given the Em- 
peror a rude shock. At a state dinner given at the Tui- 
leries on the evening of the 19 May 1870, in honor of 
the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Due de Gra- 
mont, Napoleon spoke of this vote to his old friend 
Lord Malmesbury, and in so doing let drop a remark 
which much astonished the English diplomatist. "At 
least," he said, "three hundred thousand soldiers 
have kept faithful to me in their suffrage." This 
then was the total strength of the French army, 
the only barrier against the hosts of Germany — ■ 
350,000 men, when all the world supposed that France 
could put in line of battle nearly double that number. 
Malmesbury ventured to make this observation to 
the Emperor, and to point out to him that this force 
was much inferior to that on the other side of the 
Rhine. A shade passed over Napoleon's face, but he 
made no reply. A few minutes later, with his usual 
optimism he spoke of the tranquillity of Europe; 
there was no cause for alarm, Bismarck would not 
venture to disturb the peace; King William was 
still his "bon frere"; no one desired war. Napoleon 
appeared to have no presentiment of the approaching 
tempest, which was apparent to the eyes of every 
trained observer. The candidature of a Hohenzollern 
prince for the throne of Spain, quietly arranged by 
Bismarck in his cabinet, was far from his thoughts. 
How did the fatal crisis develop ? 

All the Great Powers, except Prussia, desired to 
conserve the tranquillity of the continent. But ever 
since the Schleswig-Holstein question, "the affair of 

t.2622 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

the duchies," had come to the front in December 
1863, when Napoleon and his Ministers, in spite of 
the prophetic advice of Thiers, had let pass this oc- 
casion to nip the hopes of Prussia in the bud, Bis- 
marck and Moltke had been carefully laying their 
plans for the war against France, which alone could 
bring about the much desired unity of Germany. 
France was the only obstacle, and, at whatever cost, 
it was necessary to sweep it away. And the Imperial 
Government, on its side, committed every possible 
fault which could aid the plans of Prussia and make 
the path easy. 

The Due de Gramont, who by his temerity was one 
of the persons the most responsible for the outbreak 
of the war, has told us in detail of how the grave de- 
cision of the 14 July 1870 was reached. 

In 1868 a revolution had occurred In Spain which 
resulted in the overthrow and exile of the Queen, 
Isabella the Second. The Provisional Government 
set about the task of finding a new ruler, and the 
choice fell upon Prince Leopold of HohenzoUern, a 
distant kinsman of the King of Prussia. There is no 
doubt as to the fact that his candidature had been 
promoted by the wily Bismarck, who pretended to 
think that, as the grandson of Stephanie de Beau- 
harnais. Grand Duchess of Baden, and therefore a 
cousin of Napoleon, he would be satisfactory to the 
Emperor, notwithstanding his HohenzoUern blood. 
The offer of the Spanish crown was made to Leopold 
three times during the course of 1869 and 1870 and 
as many times refused. Bismarck had been formally 
notified by Benedetti, French Ambassador at Berlin, 

C 263 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

that Leopold was not acceptable to the Imperial Gov- 
ernment, but he persisted in urging the matter, and 
secured a fourth offer which was accepted by Leopold. 

The news that a Prussian Prince had accepted 
the throne of Spain reached Paris via Madrid on the 
second of July 1870. Great indignation was expressed 
by the Paris papers, and the excitement in the city 
was intense. In the Chamber, Gramont declared that 
the election of the Prince was inadmissible as "up- 
setting to our disadvantage the present equilibrium 
of forces in Europe," and imperilling "the interests 
and honor of France." 

Benedetti was ordered b}^ the French Government 
to proceed to Ems, a watering-place near the Rhine, 
where King William was then taking the cure, and 
demand the withdrawal of Leopold's candidature. 
Now, neither Napoleon nor William desired war, and 
the Governments of the other Great Powers were 
laboring earnestly to preserve peace. Therefore, when 
on the 12 July the father of Prince Leopold announced 
that his candidature was withdrawn, the tension was 
over, and the war scare seemed at an end. In the es- 
timation of the veteran Guizot, then living in retire- 
ment. Napoleon had gained the greatest diplomatic 
victory of his career. The Emperor was much pleased 
to learn that the difficulty was settled, and that he 
had maintained the prestige of his Government. Un- 
fortunately two men were not satisfied with the out- 
come, Gramont and Bismarck. The former had talked 
too loudly of the flagrant injury to the honor of 
France. The latter considered the reverse so great 
and so humiliating that he thought he must in self- 

C 264 '2 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

respect resign and retire into private life. In the words 
of one of his biographers this was "the severest check 
which Bismarck's poUcy had yet received ; he had per- 
suaded the Prince to accept against his will; he had 
persuaded the King reluctantly to keep the nego- 
tiations secret from Napoleon ; however others might 
disguise the truth he knew that they had had to re- 
treat from an untenable position, and retreat before 
the noisy insults of the French press and the open 
menace of the French Government." 

This great diplomatic victory was thrown away, 
and Bismarck was saved by the folly of Gramont, and 
his own duplicity. 

A hasty meeting of the French Ministers was called 
at Saint-Cloud, at which Ollivier, the President of 
the Council, was not even present. The Empress was 
surrounded by the most hot-headed members of the 
Imperial Government. Very much exited, she de- 
clared that the shock of arms alone could restore the 
honor of France. The Minister of War, the incompe- 
tent Leboeuf, threw his portfolio on the floor and said 
that he would never pick it up, and, moreover, would 
give up his baton of Marshal of France, if the Gov- 
ernment failed in this supreme test. 

Like a weak man, Gramont did not know where 
to stop. On his own responsibility, without the knowl- 
edge of Ollivier the Prime Minister, or of Napoleon 
himself, he telegraphed Benedetti to demand of King 
William a guarantee that the candidature would not 
be renewed. The King naturally resented this new 
demand, as a reflection upon his good faith, and a 
deliberate attempt to pick a quarrel with Prussia. 

n 265 2 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

His reply, that he had nothing further to say, was 
not insulting, and was not meant to be an insult. 

This new demand was presented to the King at 
Ems on the 13 July, and, as above stated, was refused, 
but with entire courtesy on the part of William. 
At the meeting of the French Ministers held that 
evening, it was not felt that this refusal made war 
inevitable. 

In the meantime, King William had caused an 
account of his final interview with Benedetti to be 
telegraphed to Bismarck at Berlin, leaving to him 
the decision as to whether the facts should be pub- 
lished or not. 

The game that Bismarck had intended to play 
had broken down completely, and on the 12 July he 
was much depressed. For the first time he had been 
worsted before Europe In a grave affair of diplomacy. 
He had now neither his candidature nor his defensive 
war, and he did not know what to do next. From this 
impasse he was now to be saved by the criminal folly 
of Gramont. 

When the Ems dispatch was received at Berlin the 
evening of the 13 July, Bismarck was dining with 
Moltke and Roon, and all were in the depths of despair 
over the failure of their well-laid plans. After care- 
fully rereading the King's message, Bismarck began 
to see a new light. Taking his big pencil, he quickly 
drafted a version for publication. "It Is very easy," 
he afterwards remarked, "without falsification, but 
simply by omissions and corrections, completely to 
alter the tone of a communication. I have myself 
once had experience of the task, as editor of the Ems 

1:266] 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE 

dispatch. When I had edited it, Moltke exclaimed: 
*The original was an order to retreat (chamade), now 
it is a summons to charge (fanfare)/'' 

Bismarck's version was immediately published in 
an extra edition of the official evening paper, which 
was distributed free on the streets of Berlin, and was 
wired to all the Prussian diplomatic representatives, 
as well as to the foreign press. The exact character 
of the "editing" is shown below where the two texts 
are given in parallel columns. 

THE EMS DISPATCH 



Abeken to Bismarck 

Ems, 13 July 1870, 3:40 p.m. 
His Majesty writes to me: 
'Count Benedetti spoke to 
me on the promenade, in 
order to demand from me, 
finally in a very importunate 
manner, that I should author- 
ize him to telegraph at once 
that I bound myself for all 
future time never again to 
give my consent if the Ho- 
henzollerns should renew their 
candidature. I refused, at 
last somewhat sternly, as it 
is neither right nor possible 
to undertake engagements of 
this kind a tout jamais. I told 
him that I had as yet received 
no news, and as he was earlier 
informed from Paris and Ma- 

Z2 



Bismarck's Version 
FOR Publication 

After the news of the re- 
nunciation of the hereditary 
Prince of HohenzoUern had 
been officially communicated 
to the Imperial Government 
of France by the Royal Gov- 
ernment of Spain, the French 
Ambassador further demanded 
of his Majesty, the King, at 
Ems, that he would authorize 
him to telegraph to Paris that 
his Majesty, the King, bound 
himself for all time never 
again to give his consent, 
should the Hohenzollerns re- 
new their candidature. His 
Majesty, the King, thereupon 
decided not to receive the 
French Ambassador again, and 

673 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 



drid than myself, he could see 
clearly that my Government 
had no more interest in the 
matter.' 

His Majesty has since re- 
ceived a letter from Prince 
Charles Anthony. His Ma- 
jesty, having told Count 
Benedetti that he was await- 
ing news from the Prince, has 
decided, with reference to the 
above demand, on the sug- 
gestion of Count Eulenberg 
and myself, not to receive 
Count Benedetti again, but 
only to let him be informed 
through an aide de camp: 
'That his Majesty has now 
received from the Prince con- 
firmation of the news which 
Benedetti had already received 
from Paris, and had nothing 
further to say to the Ambassa- 
dor.' His Majesty leaves it 
to your Excellency to decide 
Vv'hether Benedetti's fresh de- 
mand and its rejection should 
be at once communicated to 
both our Ambassadors, to 
foreign nations, and to the 
Press. [' 



sent the aide de camp on duty 
to tell him that his Majesty 
had nothing further to com- 
municate to the Ambassador. 



It will be seen that the edited version of the King's 
narrative, which Bismarck issued for publication, 
was a brutal and insulting message, true in the bare 
facts, but so worded as to convey a totally different 

1:2683 



DECilNE OF THE EMPIRE 

construction. As he said himself, it was dehberately 
intended to be "a red flag for the GalUc Bull." The 
Bismarck version gladdened the gloomy hearts of 
Roon and Moltke at that memorable dinner on the 
night of the thirteenth of July. This meant the war 
for which they had worked and prayed. Six days later 
^France declared w^r ; Bismarck had won. 



11:2693 



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

1870 
THE GERMAN WAR 

Effect of the Ems Dispatch — Declaration of War — Enthu- 
siasm of the Parisians • — Isolation of France — Disorgani- 
zation of the Army — Perfect Preparation of Prussia — 
Advance of the Three German Armies — MacMahon De- 
feated at Worth — Despair of the Emperor — Bazaine in 
Command — Attempt to Retreat on Verdun Checked at 
Borny — Night Visit to Napoleon — The Emperor Goes to 
Gravelotte — Final Interview with Bazaine — Battles of 
Vionville and Gravelotte — Siege of Metz Begun — Napo- 
leon at Chalons — A Council of War — Veto of the Em- 
press — MacMahon Decides to March on Metz — Further 
Indecision — The March Resumed — Position of the 
Germans — They Follow the French Army — Further 
Defeats of the French — Retreat to Sedan — The French 
Position — MacMahon Wounded — WimpfFen in Com- 
mand — Misery of the Emperor — Desperate Position of 
the Army — The White Flag Hoisted — Napoleon's 
Letter 

THE effect of the publication on the 14 July 
of Bismarck's brutalized version of the Ems 
dispatch was instantaneous and malign. It 
roused the indignation both of Prussia and France 
to fever heat. Napoleon, who was ill both in mind and 
body, did not desire war, but he was unable to resist 
the popular clamor. The Empress urged it, out of 
hatred of Protestant Prussia, and because she be- 
lieved it would strengthen the Imperial throne. The 
Ministry went with the current. Amid great excite- 

C2703 



THE GERMAN WAR 

ment, credits were voted 15 July, and war was for- 
mally declared on the nineteenth. Only ten members 
of the Chambers, among whom were Thiers and 
Gambetta, voted against it. 

At Paris, the certainty of victory had taken posses- 
sion of the popular imagination. The boulevards were 
filled with crowds shouting "A Berlin!" The chiefs 
of the army had loudly affirmed that the troops were 
well armed, equipped and disciplined, and no one 
doubted their valor. The war was accepted with 
enthusiasrn. It was really popular at the beginning. 
When the Emperor left for the front, he was obliged 
to take the circular route around Paris, to avoid the 
ovation of the people. 

The war began under very inauspicious circum- 
stances for France. She had declared war on Prussia 
alone, but Bismarck had played his game so well 
that the South German States, on whose support 
France had counted, immediately sided with Prussia. 
France, with only 350,000 soldiers, therefore con- 
fronted a united Germany which could put a million 
men in line of battle. The contest was hopeless from 
the start. 

Moreover, Bismarck had been successful in iso- 
lating France from the rest of Europe. He immedi- 
ately published the draft of a treaty drawn up several 
years before, between Prussia and France, but never 
signed, providing for the annexation of Belgium to 
France. In vain France protested that Bismarck him- 
self had drafted the treaty, it immediately resulted 
in alienating the sympathy of England, which de- 
clared its neutrality. France had counted upon the 

I 271 2 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

ultimate aid of Austria, but Russia, out of gratitude 
for Bismarck's support at the time of the PoUsh in- 
surrection, at once threatened to mobiUze against 
Austria if she went to the assistance of France. Italy, 
which was luke-warm on account of the continued 
occupation of Rome by French troops, could not safely 
act alone, even if so inclined. 

By the beginning of August, therefore, it was clear 
that France could expect no ally. The military 
authorities had also made the great mistake of un- 
derestimating the task before them. The lack of prep- 
aration was apparent from the first day. From every 
quarter came telegrams saying that practically every- 
thing was lacking: food, medicine, blankets, tents, 
means of transport. There were cannons without 
ammunition, horses without harnesses, machine guns 
without men who knew how to fire them. There were 
plenty of maps of Germany, but hardly any of France ! 

The German Army, on the other hand, was per- 
fectly prepared. For years the rulers of Prussia had 
been getting ready for this war, and everything had 
been anticipated and arranged for with scientific 
thoroughness. Moreover, the army was directed by 
General von Moltke, the greatest military genius 
Europe had seen since Napoleon. A thorough master 
of the principles of war, a careful student of Napo- 
leon's methods, Moltke was particularly remark- 
able as an organizer. He had carefully worked out 
the problems of modern warfare as modified since the 
time of the Great Emperor by the railway and the 
telegraph. Endless time and thought had been given 
to preparation down to the minutest detail. Orders 

C2723 



THE GERMAN WAR 

for the movements of the army corps were all ready; 
it was only necessary to date, sign and transmit them. 
No army in history had ever got under way so quickly. 
Moltke had also the assistance of the great Prussian 
General Staff, men of intelligence and judgment, 
trained both in theory and in actual experience in 
handling troops, the veterans of the Danish and 
Austrian wars. 

Therefore, while the German armies mobilized and 
advanced towards the frontier with amazing order, 
swiftness and ease, in the French arm^y, as already 
stated, everything was in confusion and disorder. 
Not only were the French inferior in numbers at the 
beginning, but they had practically no reserves upon 
which to count, while the Germans had very large 
reserves to call on. The French commanders were also 
men much inferior in ability and experience. The 
Emperor, who at the outset was the nominal com- 
mander-in-chief, was soon compelled by the state of 
his health to make other arrangements, and in the 
short period of two weeks he made three changes in 
the command of the Army of the Rhine. This of 
course was extremely demoralizing. 

The French, from the outset, were disappointed in 
all their calculations. They expected swiftly to pass 
the Rhine, call to their assistance the South German 
States, defeat the Prussians in a second battle of 
Jena, and advance upon Berlin. Nothing of the kind 
occurred. The Germans crossed into Alsace and Lor- 
raine, and in the four weeks from the sixth of August 
to the second of September, the French suffered one 
reverse after another. 

C2733 




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THE GERMAN WAR 

The war had begun so suddenly that during the 
first ten days the German frontier was hardly de- 
fended, and, if the French had been ready to advance, 
their dreams might have come true. But by the first 
week in August, the danger for Germany and the 
opportunity for France had passed away. 

As in the Austrian campaign, the huge German 
host was divided into three armies. Steinmetz with the 
first army crossed the Rhine at Bingen and followed 
the Moselle towards Thionville. The second army, 
under the command of Prince Frederick Charles of 
Prussia, known as the "Red Prince," passed the Rhine 
at Mayence, and formed the centre. The third army, 
commanded by the popular Crown Prince of Prussia, 
afterwards the Emperor Frederick, concentrated in 
the angle formed by the Rhine and the Lauter. The 
King of Prussia was the nominal commander-in-chief, 
but the operations were all planned and directed by 
Moltke, the Chief of Staff. 

The French army, in line between Metz and 
Strasbourg, numbered less than 175,000 men. The 
corps about Metz were badly posted, and MacMahon 
near Strasbourg was completely isolated. At the same 
time, the German hosts, concentrated in the angle 
between the Moselle and the Rhine, aggregated more 
than 400,000 men. 

The sixth of August, at Worth, north of Stras- 
bourg, was fought the first great battle of the war. 
MacMahon was decisively defeated, and retreated 
rapidly to the great camp at Chalons, east of Paris. 
The French had fought bravely, and the Germans 
paid dearly for their success. Not a regiment was now 

1:2753 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

left to confront the Germans between Metz and 
Strasbourg. In the former city, the news was received, 
first with increduUty, and then with consternation. 
The sense of discouragement pervaded all ranks from 
the Emperor down to the common soldiers. 

At the opening of the second week in August, 
Napoleon, at Metz, had under his command only 
125,000 men, and with this force he had to face 
300,000 Germans, flushed with victory. Only a leader 
of the genius and energy of the Great Emperor could 
have maintained the contest against such odds. Un- 
fortunately, Napoleon the Third even in his prime 
was never a commander of the first order, and now 
he was suffering from bodily pain and mental weari- 
ness. In this crisis he turned to two men to aid him; 
the first was General Changarnier, the other Marshal 
Bazaine. Prior to the coup d'etat, Napoleon had de- 
posed Changarnier from his position as commander 
of the army at Paris, and later had sent him to Ham, 
because the General was not in sympathy with his 
plans. Forgetting the past, the political prisoner of 
1 85 1 left his retirement and became the trusted Im- 
perial adviser of 1870. 

As for Bazaine, he owed his marshal's baton to 
valiant services on many fields of battle. Changarnier 
agreed with the Emperor in thinking Bazaine the best 
man available at the moment. He was therefore 
assigned to the command of three army corps and 
ordered to fall back under the guns of Metz. 

In the meantime the Emperor was seriously con- 
sidering his resignation of the supreme command. 
Both the army a^d the capital had lost confidence 

1:2763 



THE GERMAN WAR 

in him, and he never had much confidence in himself. 
On the 13 August he formally appointed Bazaine 
commander of the Army of the Rhine. This change 
was well received by the army, and Paris was satisfied. 

There has always been some doubt as to the exact 
reasons for this change of command. Napoleon 
probably yielded to popular demand, and because 
he considered this course for the best interests of 
France. But there is reason to think that his Minis- 
ters, who advised it, saw the necessity, in case of 
disaster, of having some one to take the responsibility, 
other than the Emperor. 

The controlling reason, however, was probably the 
state of Napoleon's health. In a consultation held 
at Saint-Cloud on the first day of July 1870 between 
six of the most eminent medical men of France, it 
was considered necessary to perform an immediate 
operation on the Emperor. But Nelaton ishirked the 
responsibility on account of the fatal result of a similar 
operation which he had performed on Marshal Niel 
the year before. 

On the day of the Emperor's departure for the 
front, every one was struck by his haggard appear- 
ance, as he walked between his wife and son along 
the platform of the private station in the park of 
Saint-Cloud, to take his seat in the train. It was 
afterwards revealed by Doctor Germain See, the only 
physician who signed the report of the consultation, 
that a young but exceedingly skilful surgeon accom- 
panied the Emperor during the campaign, with ail 
the appliances necessary for performing an immediate 
operation, should occasion arise. 

1^77 2 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

MacMahon was Bazaine's senior, but he had no 
wish to contest the dangerous honor of the supreme 
command, and Bazaine himself only accepted upon 
the entreaty of the Emperor. The first move of the 
new commander was to order a retreat on Verdun, 
which was begun at dawn on the 14 August; when 
the army began to cross the Moselle. 

In the midst of this movement the French were 
furiously attacked at Borny to the east of Metz by 
the first German army under Steinmetz. The retreat 
came to a standstill ; the Guard was called up to sup- 
port the troops in action, and the army was forced 
to re-cross the river. The French fought well, and 
claimed a victory. The German purpose, however, 
had been accomplished. They had checked the French 
retreat towards a point of safety, and given the Red 
Prince time to come up on the west. 

Bazaine, who seems to have realized the purpose 
of this action, felt that he was in danger of being out- 
flanked. At midnight, from the battlefield, he made 
his way across the Moselle through the crowded 
streets of Metz, and sought the Emperor in his 
quarters at the Chateau de Longueville. Here he ex- 
plained the situation, but the distracted monarch 
had no advice to offer except to urge caution and the 
avoidance of any fresh defeats. 

The 15 August, his fete-day, the Emperor cele- 
brated by a hasty withdrawal from the scene of 
danger. Accompanied by the Prince Imperial and a 
small escort he proceeded to Gravelotte, a short 
distance to the west of Metz. That afternoon he re- 
ceived Bazaine there at the village inn. 

n278 3 



THE GERMAN WAR 

On the following morning, the sixteenth, Bazaine 
and the Emperor met for the last time. The Marshal, 
summoned by an aide, found the Emperor seated 
in his carriage and evidently suffering great pain. 
He told Bazaine that the Germans were in possession 
of Briey, only a few miles to the north of Gravelotte, 
and that he was leaving for Verdun and Chalons, and 
ordered the Marshal to follow him with the army. 

The Emperor had hardly left, before the roar of 
cannon announced that another battle had begun. 
The action fought that day was the most desperate 
of the entire war. The French were endeavoring to 
retreat on Verdun, two of the corps by the northern 
route via Etain, and the other two corps and the 
Guard by the southern road via Mars-la-Tour. The 
object of the Germans was to intercept the French 
retreat on Verdun, and they maintained the attack 
throughout the day with greatly inferior forces, the 
mass of the German second army being still far 
away. Bazaine, who did not realize the slenderness 
of the forces opposing him, used unnecessary cau- 
tion. The position of the Germans was critical through- 
out the day; and they concealed the paucity of the 
force of infantry on the ground by repeated and costly 
charges of cavalry. The battle on their part was a 
marvel of military audacity. Realizing the importance 
of holding Bazaine in Metz, they risked everything 
for its accomplishment. 

The battle of Vionville, or Mars-la-Tour, settled 
the fate of Bazaine's army. Although he claimed a 
victory, he abandoned the attempt to reach Verdun, 
and the following day led his army back to a strong 

C2793 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

position under the guns of Metz. The next day was 
fought the battle of Gravelotte which resulted in 
shutting up Bazaine's army in Metz. 

The battle of Borny had been fought by the Ger- 
mans to give time for their second army to come up 
on the west; Mars-la-Tour, to check the French re- 
treat on Verdun, and Gravelotte, the last of the trio, 
to bottle Bazaine up in Metz. In all three the Germans 
had accomplished their object. 

One French army was now practically eliminated, 
and the German problem was much simplified. There 
only remained to deal with the army which Mac- 
Mahon was assembling at Chalons, and against which 
the Crown Prince was already moving. A fourth 
German army of 100,000 men was now formed, and 
put under the command of the Prince Royal of 
Saxony. This was joined to the third army of about 
120,000 men under the Crown Prince of Prussia. On 
the 20 August these two armies began a movement to 
the west in search of MacMahon. To the first and 
second armies, 225,000 strong, was left the siege of 
Metz. King V\^illiam and Moltke made their head- 
quarters with the third army. 

The Emperor arrived at Chalons from Gravelotte 
on the evening of 16 August, and found the military 
situation there very discouraging, full of confusion 
and indecision. He held anxious conferences with 
Marshal MacMahon, Prince Napoleon and General 
Trochu, the commander of the newly formed 12th 
corps. Prince Napoleon declared that the time had 
now come for the Emperor to disregard the wishes 
of the Empress, and recall his troops from Rome and 

1:280: 



THE GERMAN WAR 

secure the support of Italy. He carried his point, and 
left at once for Florence, where he was authorized 
to say to his royal father-in-law that he might do as 
he pleased with Rome provided he came to the aid 
of France. This move of Napoleon at the eleventh 
hour was to be too late; the time for assuring the 
friendship of Italy had passed. 

It was further decided that the Emperor should 
■return to Paris, where Trochu was to precede him 
and assume the military governorship, and that 
MacMahon should bring his army back to the vi- 
cinity of the capital, and there give battle for its 
defence. This was the plan adopted with success by 
General JofTre in 1914, and might have proved equally 
successful in 1870. But once more the pernicious in- 
fluence of the Empress prevailed. She protested 
strongly against the return of the Emperor, and 
wired him that the worst was to be feared at Paris 
unless he marched to the assistance of Bazaine. Thus 
was thrown away, through her baleful meddling, the 
last chance of saving France and the Imperial throne. 

In the meantime the army had been directed 
upon Reims, reaching the environs of that city the 
evening of 21 August. A hopeful telegram had been 
received from Bazaine in which he spoke confidently of 
his ability to break through the German lines of in- 
vestment on the north. This telegram, received from 
Metz on the twenty-second, and the Paris dispatches 
of the same day, convinced MacMahon that he had 
no alternative except to march to Bazaine's assist- 
ance. Consequently, the following day, he issued 
orders for an advance of his whole army upon Mont- 

12812 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

medy, a city near the frontier, about sixty miles 
northeast of Reims, and constituting the apex of a 
triangle, of which the base is formed by a line drawn 
from Reims through Verdun to Metz. 

The strength of the army under MacMahon was 
about 140,000 men, but one of his corps had been 
shattered in battle, another was made up largely of 
new recruits, and the other two were dispirited by 
forced retreats. The success of the whole movement 
depended on celerity, and of this MacMahon's army 
was incapable. 

On the 27 August, the army had reached the defile 
of Le Chene-Populeux in the Argonne, about half 
way to Montmedy. Here MacMahon was alarmed by 
the reports that the Crown Prince was coming up on 
his right flank and rear. He therefore telegraphed 
Paris that he had abandoned the attempt to reach 
Bazaine, and issued orders for his army to march to 
Mezieres directly to the north. After giving up the 
attempt to join hands with Bazaine, it is difficult 
to understand his object in going further north, in- 
stead of retreating on Reims, where he could cover 
the capital. 

During the evening the Marshal received dispatch 
after dispatch from Paris ordering him to continue 
his march to the relief of Bazaine, and saying that all 
was lost unless he acceded to the wishes of the in- 
habitants of Paris. Throughout this unfortunate cam- 
paign there was a conflict of authority between the 
Headquarters in the field, which tried to maneuver 
with reference to the German armies, and the Gov- 
ernment at Paris, which was actuated mainly by the 

[282] 



THE GERMAN WAR 

fear of the city mob. This all goes to show what a 
terrible mistake had been made by the Empress and 
her advisers in preventing the return of Napoleon to 
the capital, for he alone could have kept the popu- 
lace of Paris under control. Headquarters again 
yielded to orders from Paris and the Emperor and his 
army marched on to their doom. 

At this same time the main German army, 200,000 
strong, was at Bar-le-Duc, one hundred and sixty 
miles directly east of Paris, and prepared to march 
on the city. Moltke could hardly credit the reports 
that the French army was advancing on the Meuse. 
Orders were at once given to the third and fourth 
armies to wheel to the right and start in pursuit of the 
French whom "Gott " had delivered into their hands. 

So slow and painful were the movements of the 
French army that MacMahon could not issue orders 
for crossing the Meuse until the 29 August, and at 
nightfall on that day only one corps had passed the 
river and was in bivouac about Mouzon. The next 
day the Germans came up in force and defeated the 
French corps at Beaumont, south of the river, and 
drove it in disorder on Mouzon, where the French 
artillery, well posted on the heights east of that 
place, checked the German pursuit. 

This day's work threw the French army into terri- 
ble confusion. One corps and part of another had 
been defeated, and a third hotly pursued. Only one 
corps remained intact. The Emperor met MacMahon 
on the hills above Mouzon late in the afternoon. After 
an anxious conference, it was decided to retreat to 
the northwest in the hope of finding an open road to 

1:283] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Paris. A curt telegram was sent to the capital, read- 
ing: ''MacMahon informs the Minister of War that 
he is compelled to direct his march on Sedan.'* 

Through the dense darkness of the night, Napoleon 
made his way miserably on foot through the crowded 
streets of Sedan, where all was confusion and dis- 
order. Even now, MacMahon seems to have failed 
to recognize the gravity of the situation, although he 
hurrieo the Prince Imperial off to Mezieres, where he 
had decided to retreat the following day. 

On the 31 August the Germans advanced with 
unabated energy, and were successful In partly cut- 
ting off the French line of retreat to Mezieres on the 
northwest of Sedan. 

The French Army was now crowded into that 
narrow tract between the Meuse and the tangled 
forest of the Ardennes, which extends beyond the 
Belgian frontier. Early on the morning of the first 
of September the Germans attacked in force. Hasten- 
ing to the front, MacMahon was hit by a fragment of 
a shell and painfully wounded. This was most un- 
fortunate for the French, as there ensued a conflict 
of authority attended by the most disastrous results. 
Ducrot, who assumed the command, at once issued 
orders for a retreat on Mezieres. No sooner had this 
been done than General de Wimpffen appeared on 
the scene and produced an order from the Minister 
of War, directing him to assume the command in 
case of the disability of MacMahon. He angrily coun- 
termanded the orders of Ducrot, and so destroyed the 
last faint chance of the French army to escape the 
net which the Germans were fast spreading around 



THE GERMAN WAR 

them. Wimpffen, who was a vain, blustering man, 
had only been with the army for two days and was 
entirely ignorant of the extreme gravity of the situ- 
ation. He declared with bombast that he was going 
to throw the Germans into the Meuse and cut his 
way through to the east to the relief of Bazaine. 

Since divesting himself of the supreme command, 
and yielding to the injunction of the Empress not to 
return to Paris, Napoleon had trailed along with the 
army in the march to the north, treated with scant 
courtesy and less respect. In this supreme crisis, he 
failed to assert his authority, and allowed the new 
Minister of War, Comte Palikao, of Chinese fame, 
to decide the question of the high command. By 
taking this responsibility, Palikao ruined the small 
chance which was left for the escape of the army. It 
was a sad ending for the brilliant Second Empire, 
which had commenced with so much eclat eighteen 
years before, and for the Emperor, who for so many 
years had been the most prominent personality not 
only in France but in all Europe. 

While these events were occurring on the morning 
of the first of September, the Emperor wandered 
aimlessly about, an object of no consideration in the 
general confusion. The troops had already begun their 
retreat on Mezieres in obedience to Ducrot's order, 
and it was now necessary to retrace their steps. 

By ten o'clock in the morning, it was evident that 
the position of the French army was absolutely un- 
tenable. Crowded into an area of hardly eight square 
miles, subject to the fire of over four hundred cannon 
admirably served, there was no escape from annihi- 

1:2853 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

lation except by surrender. By order of the Emperor 
the white flag was hoisted on the citadel. The German 
batteries ceased their fire, and a Prussian officer was 
admitted to the presence of the Emperor with a 
summons to surrender Sedan. When he rode back to 
the German lines it became known for the first time 
that Napoleon was with the ill-fated army. 

About six o'clock the King of Prussia, the Crown 
Prince, Bismarck, Moltke and the General Staff 
rode forward to the heights of Frenois, overlooking 
Sedan. Here the King received the well-known letter 
from the Emperor: 

" Monsieur mon Frere, — N'ayant pas pu mourir 
au milieu de mes troupes, il ne me reste plus qu'a 
remettre mon epee entre les mains de votre Majeste/' 

Then the brilliant assemblage on the heights broke 
up, and the officers separated to go to their several 
headquarters. Darkness descended on the field that 
had witnessed the downfall of the Second Empire. 
France had experienced a catastrophe worse than 
Waterloo. 



1:2863 



CHAPTER NINETEEN 

1871-1873 

LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

The Surrender at Sedan — The Emperor's Last Meeting with 
Bismarck — His Interview with King William — Prisoner 
in Germany — The Chateau of Wilhelmshohe — Visit of 
the Empress — End of the War — Final Exile in England 
— Life at Camden Place — Failing Health of the Em- 
peror — Operation of the Second January — Death on the 
Ninth — Funeral at Chislehurst 

ON the afternoon of the second of September, 
there was an interview at the Chateau de 
Bellevue, near Donchery, between Wimpffen 
and Moltke and Bismarck to arrange the terms of the 
surrender. Moltke at once pointed out the desperate 
situation of the French army: no food, no ammuni- 
tion, demorahzation and disorder, the absolute impos- 
sibility of breaking the iron ring which encircled them ; 
that the German army occupied the cormnanding 
heights, and could destroy the city in two hours. 
Coldly, he dictated the conditions : the French army 
to surrender, arms and equipment. Wimpffen in vain 
essayed to modify these hard terms. He spoke of hard 
luck, of the bravery of the soldiers, of the danger of 
pushing a valiant foe too far. The only concession he 
was able to obtain was that the officers who gave their 
written parole d'honneur not to serve again during 
the war, might return to their homes. It was agreed 

n287 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

that the armistice should be prolonged until ten o'clock 
the following morning, when, if the terms of surrender 
had not been accepted, the German batteries would 
recommence their fire. 

At eight o'clock the next morning, Wimpffen called 
a new council of war, at which thirty general officers 
were present. He explained the results of his inter- 
view with Moltke and Bismarck, his useless efforts 
to obtain a mitigation of the severe terms. As no other 
course seemed possible, the General was authorized 
to go at once to Bellevue, and accept the terms. 

At this same hour. Napoleon was in the miserable 
house of a weaver on the route to Donchery. He had 
wished to see the King of Prussia, with the hope of 
obtaining better conditions for his army. Entering 
a hired caleche he followed the broad highway, bor- 
dered with poplars, and shortly met Bismarck, who 
had set out to intercept him, for the purpose of pre- 
venting an interview with the King, until the capitu- 
lation was signed. King William was still at Venderesse 
nine miles away. 

Here are the events of that last meeting between 
the fallen monarch and the Iron Chancellor, in the 
words of Bismarck himself: 

"I met him on the high road near Frenois, a mile 
and three quarters from Donchery. He sat with three 
officers in a two-horse carriage, and three others were 
on horseback beside him. I gave the military salute. 
He took his cap off, and the officers did the same: 
whereupon I took mine off, although it is contrary 
to rule. He said: ' Couvrez-vous done' I behaved to 
him just as if in Saint-Cloud, and asked his commands. 

1:2883 






* ■ *■ ■ i ■ - - *7" 




iiiiiF^ 



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I — I 

Pi 
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laiiiii^lMLiiiiiiiaii: 



LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

He inquired whether he could speak to the King. I 
said that would be impossible as the King was quar- 
tered nine miles away. I did not wish them to come 
together till we had settled the matter of the capitu- 
lation. Then he inquired where he himself could stay, 
which signified that he could not go back to Sedan. 
I offered him my quarters in Donchery, which I 
would immediately vacate. He accepted this; but 
he stopped at a place a couple of hundred paces from 
the village, and asked whether he could not remain 
in a house which was there. I sent my cousin, who had 
ridden out as my adjutant, to look at it. When he 
returned, he reported it to be a miserable place. The 
Emperor said that did not matter. I went up with 
him to the first floor, where we entered a little room 
with one window. It was the best in the house, but 
had only one deal table and two rush-bottomed chairs. 
Here I had a conversation with him which lasted 
nearly three quarters of an hour.'* 

Says Napoleon, in his own account: "The conver- 
sation first entered upon the position of the French 
army, a question of vital urgency. Count von Bis- 
marck stated that General Moltke alone was compe- 
tent to deal with this question. When General von 
Moltke arrived. Napoleon requested of him that 
nothing should be settled before the interview which 
was to take place, for he hoped to obtain from the 
King some favorable concessions for the army. 
Monsieur von Moltke promised nothing; he confined 
himself to announcing that he was about to proceed 
to Venderesse, where the King of Prussia then was, 
and Count von Bismarck urged the Emperor to go 

1:2893 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

on to the Chateau de Bellevue, which had been se- 
lected as the place of the interview. It became evi- 
dent that the latter would be delayed until after the 
signature of the capitulation." 

For a short time the Emperor and his staff were 
left alone in front of the little yellow cottage while 
Bismarck proceeded to Donchery to see about their 
quarters. An hour later, Napoleon drove on to the 
Chateau, escorted by a guard of Prussian cavalry. 
Here he awaited the arrival of the King of Prussia, 
who came on horseback, accompanied by the Crown 
Prince, and attended by a few officers. " It was now 
three years" says Napoleon, "since the sovereigns 
of France and Prussia had met, under very dijBFerent 
circumstances. Now, betrayed by fortune. Napoleon 
had lost everything, and had surrendered into the 
hands of the conqueror the only thing left him — his 
liberty." . 

The evening of the fourth of September 1870, the 
authorities of the city of Cassel received from the 
headquarters of the King of Prussia at Varertnes a 
telegram announcing the capitulation of the French 
army, the surrender of the Emperor, and the designa- 
tion of Wilhelmshohe as his residence as prisoner of 
war. 

Wilhelmshohe was one of the finest chateaux in 
Germany, the former residence of Jerome when King 
of Westphalia, and was still filled with Napoleonic 
souvenirs. King William had not forgotten the splen- 
did reception given him only three years before when 
he was a guest in the palaces of the Emperor, and he 

C2903 



LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

wished to soften so far as possible the chagrin of 
defeat. Queen Augusta, who was a great admirer of 
the French, had also urged her husband not to take 
an unkind advantage of the superiority given him by 
the fate of war. 

Napoleon and his suite arrived the following day 
in two special trains. In the party, there were five 
generals, two physicians, his private secretary, 
Pietri, and many servants. The Governor of Cassel, 
Comte de Monts, was appalled at the thought of 
entertaining at the expense of the King this large 
party of illustrious captives. A postal and telegraphic 
bureau was installed at the Chateau, of which the 
prisoners had free use. The apartments were large 
and magnificently furnished. The table was abundant 
and well served. The total expenses amounted to 
about 40,000 francs a month. 

The Chateau is splendidly situated, in a large 
park, and has an extended view over the Thuringian 
mountains and forests. The season was marked by 
continual rains, and the Emperor passed most of his 
time in his private rooms. There was a fine library 
in the Chateau, well stocked with French books, for 
those who cared to read, and billiard tables and other 
amusements for any whose tastes were not literary. 

It was no new experience for Napoleon to be a 
prisoner, and as at Ham he passed his time in study 
and in writing. He began an article upon the Prussian 
military system and composed some addresses to the 
French people. 

If he did not give way to despair, he exaggerated, 
on the other hand, his air of calm indifference, and 

1:291] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

talked with a freedom which was very unusual in his 
case. His conversation frequently turned upon the 
defective organization of the French army, of which 
he spoke with the complete detachment of a dis- 
interested third party. He said that he knew of the 
defects before the war, and had been prevented by 
the Chambers from introducing in France the system 
of universal military service. Strangers who listened 
to his remarks could not understand how a man, who 
at the peril of his life had carried through such an 
audacious undertaking as the coup d'etat, should 
have shown towards the end of his reign such a com- 
plete lack of force of character. They did not realize 
to what an extent his moral had been impaired by 
disease and the long-continued strain of domestic 
infelicities. 

The only thing that seemed to affect him was the 
unpopularity of the Empress. The attacks upon him- 
self he read with apparent indifference. Only a few 
short weeks before, the day of his departure for the 
front, he had had difficulty in avoiding the popular 
ovation. To-day he was held responsible for all the mis- 
fortunes of the war, which he was accused of insti- 
gating. 

The 30 October, after the surrender of Metz, when 
the Emperor was looking for the arrival of Marshals 
Bazaine, Canrobert and Leboeuf, the Empress sud- 
denly put in an appearance. She had come directly 
from Chislehurst, travelling night and day. She came 
to talk over with Napoleon a plan for restoring peace 
and order in France. Metz had fallen, Paris was 
completely invested; all the marshals, forty generals, 

C2923 



LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

and the two principal French armies were interned 
in Germany, and there was no hope in continuing the 
struggle. At this time, every one remarked the air of 
superiority which she assumed in addressing the 
Emperor, and her complete assurance, which gave 
the impression that she was not only accustomed to 
being listened to, but also of having the last word. 
She remained for three days, leaving for England the 
night of the first of November. 

In France, all hope had not yet been abandoned, 
and a double attempt, diplomatic and military, was 
being made to save the situation. Thiers was visiting 
London, Vienna and Saint Petersburg in the fruitless 
effort to persuade the Great Powers to intervene, 
while Gambetta, who had escaped from Paris in a 
balloon, was endeavoring to re-organize the national 
defences. But it was only a vain hope. Paris was 
forced to capitulate, after one of the most remarkable 
sieges in history, and the war was over. 

The 13 March 1871, the Governor informed Napo- 
leon of his approaching liberation. On the nineteenth, 
while his officers returned to France, he took a special 
train which was arranged for him, and travelled via 
Cologne to the Belgian frontier, whence he continued 
his journey by way of Verviers and Malines. The 
following day he landed at Dover, where he was re- 
ceived by the Empress and the Prince Imperial, and 
then continued his route to Chislehurst. On arriving 
in England, and at every point during his journey to 
Camden Place, he was greeted by enormous and 
sympathetic crowds of spectators, who had gathered 
to show that they had not forgotten the twenty years 

n293 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

of close alliance between his former government and 
that of the Queen. The exile once niore found on 
British soil a welcome haven of repose. 

The day after his arrival at Camden Place, the 
Emperor received a visit from his old friend Lord 
Malmesbury, who passed an hour with him in talking 
over old times. They had first met as young men in 
Rome in 1829, and had always kept up their friend- 
ship. Later, Malmesbury had visited the Prince at 
Ham, and the Emperor at the Tuileries, and he was 
now the first to pay his respects to the exile of Chisle- 
hurst. Two weeks later, on the third of April, Napo- 
leon received a friendly call from Queen Victoria. 
In September, he went with the Prince Imperial to 
Torquay, while the Empress made a visit to her 
mother in Spain. 

The days at Camden Place passed without any 
striking incidents to vary their monotony. When the 
Emperor was not writing or reading, he occupied his 
time between the instruction of his son, and strolls 
around the neighborhood, sometimes accompanied 
by the Prince and sometimes by the Empress. He 
was occupied with a work upon the military forces 
of France at the time of the outbreak of the war, 
which he proposed to send to Paris for publication. 

From time to time, he received calls from old 
friends like the Due and Duchesse de Mouchy, or 
the Due de Bassano, who came only with the idea of 
cheering him up. At other times, there were visitors 
like Rouher, who came to revive his energy, stir up 
his hopes, and incite him for the fourth time to at- 
tempt the " Great Adventure." 

C2943 



LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

Around the table, during the two years, the conver- 
sation frequently turned to the plans for the future. 
While Thiers was giving presidential receptions in 
the historic palace of the Elysee, the dethroned 
Emperor at Chislehurst talked of rebuilding the 
Tuileries, or of re-forming the Imperial Court, as the 
Empress desired, in the old state apartments of 
the Louvre. Plans were seriously formed in view of 
an Imperial restoration. The Prince Imperial was 
very much interested in the idea of reconquering the 
paternal throne, and the Empress seemed full of 
hope. Napoleon listened, but took little part in the 
conversation. When he was urged to decision, he 
yielded a quiet consent to the zealous plans of his 
partisans who were eager for action. 

Without ever formally making a statement to that 
effect. Napoleon undoubtedly thought that he too 
would one day make his "Return from Elba." To the 
last moment of his life, he was never free from this 
illusion. The preparations for the re-entry of the 
Emperor on the scene had been worked out to the 
last detail, although the plans were a secret ex- 
cept to a very small number of persons. A historian 
of the Third Republic has written: "For several 
months the irons were in the fire. Men of importance 
in public life, generals, prefects, prelates were in the 
conspiracy. Rouher crossed the Channel several 
times to see if the Emperor was in a condition to 
mount a horse." 

Unfortunately, the disease which Doctor Germain 
See had diagnosed the first of July 1870, and which, 
if it had been known before the declaration of war, 

C 29s 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

might have inspired very different measures — this 
disease had taken an alarming turn. The physical 
exhaustion of the campaign, and especially the trying 
hours spent in the saddle at Sedan, had aggravated 
the trouble to such an extent that, since his arrival 
at Camden Place, Napoleon had only rarely gone 
outside the limits of the private park. During the 
second summer he made a short trip to the Isle of 
Wight, but the change did him no good. 

At the close of the year 1872, a consultation of the 
Emperor's medical advisers decided that he must 
undergo the operation of lithotrity, which, in the 
state of aggravation that his malady had reached, 
gave very little hope of recovery. Nevertheless, this 
operation, performed the second of January by Sir 
Henry Thompson, was an apparent success, and the 
most favorable hopes were entertained. The bulle- 
tins announced that the condition of the Emperor 
was satisfactory; he had no fever, and good results 
were expected from a third and final operation which 
was to take place the 18 January. 

To calm his suffering and assure his sleeping 
quietly. Doctor Gall had prescribed a dose of chloral 
to be given him during the evening of the eighth of 
January. From a feeling of presentiment, and because 
for the moment he was suffering no pain. Napoleon 
refused to take the draught. But the Empress insisted, 
and he finally consented to take the fatal dose, which 
gave him, not a night of repose, but eternal rest. He 
fell asleep at nine o'clock in the evening, and never 
recovered consciousness except for a few seconds, at 
ten o'clock the next morning, after which he drew 

1:2963 



LAST DAYS OF THE EMPEROR 

his last breath at a quarter past eleven. It was the 
ninth of January 1873, and he had nearly reached 
the end of his sixty-fifth year. So ended one of the 
most striking careers in the annals of history. 

The funeral of the Emperor took place in Saint 
Mary's Church, Chislehurst, on the 15 January, in 
the presence of an imposing gathering of former dig- 
nitaries of the Empire and of representatives of the 
Queen and of foreign countries. 



1^971 



/ 



CHAPTER TWENTY 

1856-1879 

THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

His First Public Appearance — The Baptism of Fire — His 
Wanderings During the War — Chislehurst and Woolwich 
— Service in South Africa — Killed by the Zulus — Prince 
Victor Head of the Family — His Marriage with Clemen- 
tine — Birth of Louis Napoleon — The American Bona- 
partes — The Empress at Farnborough Hill — Her Visits 
to Paris and Cap Martin — Her Death — The Fate of the 
Tuileries 

AFTER the death of the Emperor, the hopes 
of the Imperial party were centered upon the 
young Prince Imperial, then a youth of 
seventeen years. 

On two historical occasions during the Second 
Empire the Prince had appeared prominently before 
the public eye. The first was the day of the return 
of the victorious troops from the Italian war, in 
August 1859, when he was a baby three years old. 
Dressed in the blue and red uniform of a grenadier of 
the Guard, and .mounted irpon the pommel of his 
father's saddle, he had received a tremendous ova- 
tion from the people. 

The second time was at Sarrebruck in August 
1870 at the opening of the disastrous campaign, when 
he recieved the "baptism of fire." On the forenoon 
of the 28 July, the Emperor and his son had entered 
the special train that was to take them to Metz, 

c 298 a 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

and which had come to pick them up in the private 
park at Saint-Cloud, near what was called the Orleans 
Gate. The young Prince was in the uniform of a sub- 
lieutenant of infantry, and was gay, and full of en- 
thusiasm. A few days later occurred the skirmish at 
Sarrebruck, which was acclaimed as the dawn of a 
victorious campaign. It was the only day of exulta- 
tion for the Imperial family during this disastrous 
war. Shortly afterwards, Napoleon yielded to the 
necessity of abandoning his functions of generalis- 
simo. He took the Prince with him to Verdun and 
then to Chalons. When the march to the north to 
meet Bazaine was decided upon, the Emperor, with 
the Prince, accompanied MacMahon's army. They 
left Chalons the 21 August; two days later they were 
still at Reims, where there were fresh deliberations. 
The Emperor then separated from his son for the 
first time, sending him to Rethel, where he rejoined 
him the twenty-fifth. Two days later the Emperor 
bade adieu to his son as he thought "for a few days." 
He was not to see him again until six months later in 
exile. 

It is unnecessary to follow the poor young Prince 
in his painful wanderings along the northern frontier. 
On the fourth of September, the day of the revolution 
in Paris, he arrived at Mauberge. That afternoon a 
dispatch was received from the Empress reading: 
" Start at once for Belgium." A few minutes later the 
Prince had left French soil, upon which he was never 
again to set foot. He proceeded to Ostende, where he 
embarked for England, landing at Dover the sixth 
of September. 

1 299 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The Empress on her arrival in England decided 
to take a house at Chislehurst called Camden Place. 
The house without being very large was sufficiently 
comfortable. Here the Prince continued his studies 
with his former tutor Augustin Filon. Later he went 
to King's College in London, and finally, in 1872, to 
the Woolwich Royal Academy, where the officers of 
the engineers and artillery are trained. He was there at 
the time of his father's death in January 1873. 

In February the Prince once more donned his 
cadet's uniform and returned to Woolwich. 

In January 1875 he passed his final examinations, 
ranking seventh in his class. He was far from regard- 
ing his military education as finished when he left 
Woolwich, and had himself attached to a permanent 
battery at Aldershot, where he took up his duties in 
the spring. His summer vacation was spent with his 
mother at Arenenberg. The next year was spent in the 
same manner. 

In the autumn of 1876 the Empress and her son 
went to Italy for the winter. After a short excursion 
to Venice, and a visit to the battlefields of 1859, he 
rejoined his mother at Florence. In April 1877 he was 
back at Camden Place. 

In July 1878 he visited Denmark and Sweden, 
where he was everywhere cordially received, as he 
expressed it in a letter to his mother, "As if my father 
was still on the throne." From this visit, the Prince 
returned to Arenenberg, which this year was livelier 
than ever. Madame Octave Feuillet wrote of him at 
that time : " He is a fine fellow of three and twenty, 
with the grace of a perfect gentleman. Every one 

C3003 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

speaks of his charm, his heart, the sincerity and 
rectitude of his sentiments." 

In February 1879, the Prince sent a request to the 
Duke of Cambridge that he might be allowed to serve 
with the English army in South Africa. The Empress 
fought the Prince's resolution with all the arguments 
she could think of, but in vain. Rouher came to 
Chislehurst and also did his utmost to get him to 
change his mind. The last of the month he embarked 
at Southampton. 

The English Government had thought it impos- 
sible to grant his request to be enrolled in the army, 
but had given instructions that he should be allowed 
to follow the operations with the columns of the ex- 
pedition. The letter of instructions to the General-in- 
Chief ended with the words : " My one fear is that he 
may be too courageous." Lord Chelmsford had a hard 
problem to solve : to reconcile the Prince's wishes with 
the instructions he had received from the War Office. 

On the 26 March 1879, in a long letter to his mother 
from Cape Town, the Prince gave her a full account 
of his voyage. In frequent letters to the Empress he 
recounted the progress of the campaign, stage by 
stage. The morning of the first of June 1879, the 
English forces, in two columns, were to cross Blood 
River, and, effecting a junction at a point agreed upon, 
to march on Ulundi. The Prince was ordered to choose 
the site for the second camp where the army was to 
halt after its march on the second of June. 

On the first of June, in a last hurried letter to his 
mother, he announced that he was off in a few minutes 
to select the camping ground on the left bank of Blood 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

River. That afternoon his small party, while dis- 
mounted, was attacked by a band of about fifty 
Zulus. The Prince, abandoned by his escort, who had 
fled in disorder, attempted to mount, but his horse, 
a high-spirited thoroughbred, was restless, from the 
war cries and shots of the enemy, and went off at a 
gallop. The Prince ran with him, clinging to the 
stirrup leather and the saddle, and continuing to make 
desperate efforts to mount. Finally the girth of the 
saddle broke and he fell to the ground. Here he was 
surrounded by the Zulus and slain with repeated 
thrusts of their assegais. After stripping his body 
bare, except for a gold chain with medallions around 
his neck, the savages fled. The following day his body 
was recovered by a detachment of English cavalry. 

On the morning of the second of June, General 
Chelmsford sent the English Government a dispatch 
to inform it of the catastrophe, but, owing to neces- 
sary delays in transmission, the telegram did not 
reach London until the nineteenth. 

The news was not published in London and Paris 
until the twentieth, when it created a great sensation. 
The body of the Prince was embalmed and sent to Eng- 
land, where it arrived at Plymouth the lo July 1879. 

With the death of the young Prince Imperial 
practically expired the last hope of the Napoleonic 
dynasty. The Bonaparte family, which had played 
such a predominating part in the history of the past 
century, seemed doomed to early extinction. Al- 
though Charles Bonaparte of Corsica had had five 
sons and ten grandsons, there were only three male 
descendants then living, in the fourth generation. 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

At the present writing, the head of the family is 
Prince Victor Napoleon, the elder son of Prince Napo- 
leon, who was the son of the Great Emperor's young- 
est brother Jerome by his second marriage with the 
Princess Catherine of Wiirtemberg. He was born in 
1862 and is now fifty-eight years of age. For many 
years he had a liaison with an actress named Marie 
Biot, by whom he had a number of illegitimate chil- 
dren. For a time she occupied a house adjoining his 
own in the Avenue Louise at Brussels. 

At a later date, in deference to the urgent en- 
treaties of his family and of the leaders of the Bona- 
parte cause, he became a suitor for the hand of the 
Princess Clementine, the youngest daughter of Leo- 
pold the Second, and therefore first cousin of the pres- 
ent King Albert. The Princess, who was born in 1872, 
was then nearly forty years of age. But while she 
was apparently willing to overlook the actress and 
her family. King Leopold forbade the marriage, as 
he did not care to incur the ill-will of the Third Re- 
public by allying his daughter with a claimant to 
the throne of France. After the death of Leopold, 
however, the marriage took place, in November 
1910, and an heir to the Bonaparte claims was 
born at Brussels 23 January, 1914, and named Louis 
Napoleon. 

The only brother of Victor, Prince Louis, was a 
General of Cavalry in the Russian Army, and, in 
1906, Governor of the Caucasus. He was at one 
time deeply infatuated with the Grand Duchess 
Helena of Russia, and after her refusal to marry him 
he became a confirmed bachelor. 

C 303 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

The only other adult member of the Bonaparte 
family in Europe is Roland, son of that Prince Pierre 
who shot Victor Noir in 1870, and caused a terrible 
scandal during the closing days of the Second Empire. 
Roland was the son of a plumber's daughter by the 
name of Ruffin, and was in his teens before his parents 
were united by any legal ceremony. In 1880, Roland 
married Marie Blanc, daughter of the proprietor of 
the famous gambling establishment at Monte-Carlo. 
She died two years later, leaving him one daughter, 
and an enormous fortune. Some years later he aspired 
to the hand of Marie, the widowed Duchess of Aosta, 
a sister of Victor and Louis Bonaparte. But the late 
King Humbert of Italy, who was her uncle and her 
brother-in-law, intervened, and used his authority 
as chief of the house of Savoy, to which she belonged 
both by birth and marriage, to forbid such a mesal- 
liance as her marriage to a man of doubtful birth and 
of tainted fortune. 

The only other Bonapartes in existence are those 
in America, the descendants of Napoleon's youngest 
brother Jerome by his first marriage in 1803 with 
Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore. It is unnecessary 
to recall here the base desertion by Jerome of his 
wife and little boy, on the refusal of the Emperor to 
recognize the validity of this marriage, because it had 
been contracted without his consent. This son of 
Jerome, named Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, had a 
son of the same name who entered the French army 
in 1854, and served with distinction in the Crimea 
and Italy. During the Second Empire he was success- 
ful in securing from the French Council of State a 

n 304 3 




iiic. f-2 j^^^^^*^i^-^'^^-'/^%-'/^3 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

decision acknowledging the validity of his grand- 
father's marriage, and his father's legitimacy, but it 
was expressly stated that this decree did not invest 
the Patterson-Bonapartes with any claims to the 
Imperial succession. It is possible, nevertheless, that 
the Bonapartes may yet have to look to the United 
States for a representative of the dynasty. 

When one recalls the astounding history of this 
family, in connection with which everything that 
seemed improbable and even impossible came to pass, 
who can say that an American Emperor of the French, 
a descendant of Betty Patterson of Baltimore, may 
not some day revive the glories of the First and the 
Second Empire? 

For seven years the remains of the Emperor re- 
posed at Chislehurst in a sarcophagus presented by 
Queen Victoria, above which floated the banner which 
had hung at Windsor over his stall as Knight of the 
Garter. 

After the death of the Prince Imperial in South 
Africa in 1879, the Empress Eugenie made her 
home at Farnborough Hill, about half way from 
London to Winchester on the route to Southampton, 
and Camden Place, where the Emperor died, is now 
a golf-club house. 

On a hill that rises before the house, the Empress 
erected the Abbey Chapel, a magnificent monu- 
ment to the Emperor and the Prince. On the ninth 
of January 1888 the crypt received the remains of 
Napoleon and his son. The underground chapel lies 
beneath the choir of the church. To the right and 

C 305 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

left are the tombs of the father and son. A third place 
is now occupied by the tomb of the Empress. 

The Empress for many years spent her winters 
in her villa at Cap Martin, near Nice. When she 
passed through Paris, in going and coming, she al- 
ways occupied the same suite at the Hotel Continental, 
looking out on the Gardens of the Tuileries, the scene 
of her former grandeur. As she took her daily walk in 
the Gardens, leaning upon a cane and supported by 
the arm of a faithful companion, bowed with the 
weight of her ninety-four years, but few passers-by 
recognized in the heavily-veiled lady dressed in quiet 
black the once beautiful and graceful Empress of 
the French. 

The tragedy of the life of Eugenie ended with her 
death on Sunday, ii July 1920, at Madrid, in the 
Palacio de Liria, the home of her nephew, the Duke 
of Alba, at the advanced age of ninety-four years, 
two months and six days. 

Nearly half a century had elapsed since her escape 
from the Tuileries on the fourth of September 1870 
when the Third Republic was proclaimed. During 
all these years she had lived in complete retirement. 
Perhaps no one has expressed the feeling of the younger 
generation for her so eloquently as Lord Rosebery. 
In a copy he sent her of his "Napoleon: The Last 
Phase," he addressed her as, "The surviving sovereign 
of Napoleon's dynasty: the Empress who has lived 
on the summits of splendor, sorrow and catastrophe 
with supreme dignity and courage." 

To the end of her life Eugenie retained much of the 
charm that had held France at her feet in the early 

1:306] 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

days of her marriage with the Emperor. She never 
lost her interest in public affairs, with which she 
kept fully posted by her reading. During the Great 
War she worked for the victory of the Allies. Early 
in the conflict she gave up her home at Farnborough 
Hill, which was transformed into a hospital for 
wounded British officers. Despite her advanced age 
she assumed entire direction of the place and devoted 
herself to aiding the wounded men. 

Eugenie suffered much from rheumatism, but she 
refused to follow the advice of her doctors and aban- 
don the damp climate of England for the warm dry 
air of the Riviera where she owned an estate. Re- 
cently she had completely lost the sight of one eye, 
and it was feared that she would become totally 
blind, as all the oculists who had attended her gave 
no hope of saving her sight. 

When the Duke of Alba visited her during the 
spring of 1920 at her villa at Cap Martin, where she 
had passed the winter as usual, she expressed a long- 
ing to return once more to her native land before she 
became blind. The Duke, having ascertained from 
the doctors that her health would permit the journey, 
arranged the trip, and they sailed from Marseille for 
Algeciras. 

Eugenie expressed great delight at being once more 
in Spain, and at seeing again the places which were, 
after all, the dearest to her, and above all Andalusia, 
the province in which she was born. After spending 
a short time at her nephew's home in Seville, she was 
induced to visit his palace at Madrid, and it was while 
there that the Duke heard of the wonderful cures 

C3073 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

effected by an oculist of Barcelona. He decided to 
see if something could be done to save his aunt's 
failing eyesight. Doctor Barraquen was summoned, 
and, after several examinations, decided to operate 
upon both eyes. No surgical instrument was used, 
but a new cupping process. The operation was a 
complete success. After a few days the Empress was 
able to see distinctly. 

During her visit to Spain, Eugenie seemed to be in 
good health for a woman of her age, and on the day 
before her death was exceptionally well. At midday 
she lunched heartily. A short time later she became 
ill, and Doctor Grenda, physician to King Alfonso, 
was called. Finding her condition serious, he sum- 
moned a specialist and also two other physicians. 
They were unable, however, to relieve the patient, 
and the Empress passed away quietly on Sunday 
morning ii July, shortly before eight o'clock, never 
having regained consciousness. Her illness was so 
sudden that her nephew was absent in France, and 
no member of her family was present at the time of 
her death. 

On the 20 July the body of the Empress was placed 
in a sarcophagus between the tombs of the Emperor 
and the Prince Imperial in the crypt of the Chapel 
of St. Michael's Abbey at Farnborough. Thousands 
of British soldiers escorted the coffin from the station 
to the abbey with impressive ceremony. Cavalry with 
drawn swords lined the route and the path through 
the abbey grounds was guarded by infantry with 
reversed rifles. 

With the death of the Empress Eugenie, there 

1:3083 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

closes a chapter in history almost unparalleled for 
the heights of its glory and the depths of its tragedy. 
No heroine of romantic fiction ever had a career so 
fantastic as was her life. The story of Cinderella is 
pale and commonplace in comparison. Born in a 
modest house in a small street in Granada, the daugh- 
ter of a Spanish adventuress, she led for years a Bo- 
hemian life in Paris and other European capitals, 
attracting many admirers by her beauty, but finding 
no one willing to marry her. Finally she met Napo- 
leon and easily won his susceptible heart. Having met 
with refusals ever3rwhere in his quest for a bride 
among the daughters of the royal houses of Europe, 
the Emperor suddenly startled the world by the an- 
nouncement of his intention to marry the lovely 
Spaniard. The beauty of the future Empress was un- 
doubted. "The Emperor has only to show his bride," 
said Morny, "and Paris will award her the golden 
apple." 

It is too soon to pass a final judgment on Eugenie. 
The sorrow of the lonely woman in exile, bereft of 
her husband and son, uttering no word in her de- 
fence, has been generally respected during the many 
long years of her later life. For this reason much of 
the history of France during the closing years of the 
Second Empire has remained untold until the pres- 
ent day. The role played by the Empress in such 
decisive events as the Italian imbroglio, the Mexi- 
can adventure and the war with Prussia, has never 
been definitely settled. Memoirs withheld from pub- 
lication until after her death may now be expected 
to shed new light on these problems. 

1 309 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

" I have lived — I have been. I do not desire to be 
anything more, not even a memory. I live, but I 
am no more — a shadow, a phantom, a grief which 
walks." 

No words more pathetic than these were ever 
uttered by one who had gained the highest prizes 
this world can offer. "A sorrow's crown of sorrow is 
remembering happier things." 

Those who visit Paris to-day, and from the Arc de 
Triomphe look down the Champs-Elysees, across 
the Place de la Concorde, and the Gardens beyond, 
to the unmeaning desolation of the space once occu- 
pied by the central facade of the Tuileries, can scarcely 
realize the scene as it was before the insurrection of 
the Commune in 1871. "Then," says Hare, "between 
the beautiful chestnut avenues, across the brilliant 
flowers and quaint orange trees of the Gardens, be- 
yond the sparkling glory of the fountains, rose the 
majestic fagade of a palace, infinitely harmonious in 
color, indescribably picturesque and noble in form, 
interesting beyond description from its associa- 
tions, appealing to the noblest and most touching 
recollections, which all its surroundings led up to 
and were glorified by, which was the centre and soul 
of Paris, the first spot to be visited by strangers, the 
one point in the capital which attracted the sympa- 
thies of the world. It is all gone now. Malignant folly 
ruined it; apathetic and narrow-minded policy de- 
clined to restore and preserve it." 

The site of the Palace, then outside the city walls, 
was occupied originally by a manufactory of tiles, 

C3103 



THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

hence the name of Tuileries. Catherine de Medicis, 
the widow of Henry the Second, acquired the prop- 
erty, and, in 1564 employed PhiHbert Delorme to 
build a magnificent palace there. He erected the 
facade towards the gardens, and his work was con- 
tinued by Jean Bullant, who built the pavilions at 
either end of his facade. Under Henri Quatre the 
south wing was continued to the Pavilion de Flore on 
the Seine. The space on the north continued to be 
unoccupied except by detached buildings until Louis 
Quatorze completed it to the Pavilion de Marsan on 
the Rue de Rivoli. 

The Tuileries were seldom occupied by royalty 
until the last century. Napoleon came there as First 
Consul in 1800, and from that time the palace was 
the principal residence of the rulers of France until 
its destruction by the Commune. 

In the Chapel of the Tuileries, Napoleon was mar- 
ried by Cardinal Fesch to Josephine, who had long 
been his wife by the civil bond. Pius Seventh, when he 
came to Paris for the coronation, resided in the 
Pavilion de Flore. In the Tuileries, the divorce of 
Josephine was pronounced. Here Napoleon came on 
his return from Elba, and was borne up the Staircase 
of Honor in the arms of his Old Guard, by the light 
of their torches. 

After the fall of Napoleon, the Tuileries continued 
to be the habitual seat of the executive power until 
1870. During the Second Empire it was the city resi- 
dence of Napoleon the Third. Here he was affianced 
to Eugenie, and here the Prince Imperial was born. 
At the palace, the Empress heard of the surrender at 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Sedan, and thence she fled from the fury of the mob 
on the fourth of September 1870, passing through 
the connecting wings of the galleries of the Louvre, 
and escaping at the further end. 

The Tuileries, which had already been four times 
attacked and pillaged by the populace of Paris, twice 
in 1792, and again during the revolutions of July 
1830 and February 1848, were wilfully burnt by the 
Commune, 23 May 1871, after the Versailles troops 
had entered the city. Internally, the palace was 
completely destroyed, but the walls remained stand- 
ing, and the beautiful central Pavilion de THorloge 
was almost entirely uninjured. After allowing these 
ruins, by far the most interesting in France, to stand 
for twelve years, the Government of the Third Re- 
public in 1883 ordered them razed to the ground, 
and thus was lost forever to Paris its most interesting 
historical monument. The two pavilions of Flore and 
Marsan, which terminate the wings of the Louvre, 
in spite of the modifications which they have experi- 
enced, alone recall the former building. These were 
completely rebuilt in 1875, ^^^ ^^^ i^ow occupied by 
government offices. 

The ancient site of the Tuileries is now covered 
with flower beds. This leaves the former quadrangle 
of the Louvre incomplete, and, from the picturesque 
point of view, decidedly mars the general effect. 
Another generation, less jealous of the past, and more 
mindful of the glories of France, may decide to restore 
this historical monument. 



C3123 



CHAPTER TWENTY- ONE 

1808-1873 

CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

His Mission — His Heredity — His Youth and Education — 
His Mother's Influence — His Personal Attraction — His 
Excellence in Sports — His Powers as a Linguist — His 
Efforts to Improve France — His Personality — His 
Entourage — His Dignity — His Affability — His Tenac- 
ity — His Lack of Decision — His Love of Startling Effects 
— His Impassibility — His Personal Appearance — His 
Place in History 

FOR many years the life of Napoleon the Third 
was an enigma; it escaped analysis, and, by 
the violence of its contrasts, provoked the 
most divergent opinions. Time, however, has served 
to dispel much of the mystery of his personality and 
of his politics, to which a chain of remarkable cir- 
cumstances gave so exceptional a character. Romantic 
by inheritance from his mother; self-restrained and 
taciturn like his father; very unequal in his work, 
surprising the world by measures taken too hastily, 
or disappointing it by his delay in reaching a decision, 
he had at all times only one fixed idea: the belief 
that he was the legitimate successor of his uncle, and 
foreordained to carry out his Imperial policies. Like 
the Great Emperor, he believed that he had a "mis- 
sion" to fulfill, and to this he devoted all his thoughts 
and all his energies. As the result of his ruminations 
he had evolved an ideal of Imperialism, of a sovereign 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

who should be at once the elect of God and of the peo- 
ple. 

Either from sincere admiration, or through an 
adroit calculation, Louis Napoleon wished not only 
to carry to completion the unfinished task of his 
uncle, but to imitate and copy him in every detail of 
his career. In spite of his humane impulses, and his 
natural aversion to war, he felt that his heredity im- 
posed the obligation of military glory. Hence the 
numerous wars during his reign. He had made a 
profound study of military affairs, and possessed 
much academic knowledge of the subject, but on the 
field of battle he failed to inspire confidence. In 1855, 
when he was determined to go to the Crimea and take 
command of the Allied armies, his old friend Persigny, 
the French Ambassador at London, said to the Eng- 
lish Minister, Lord Malmesbury: "At whatever cost, 
we must prevent this; better even make peace if 
necessary. If he goes, the army is lost, and we shall 
have a revolution at home." 

As a boy, Louis Napoleon was bright, high-spirited, 
and affectionate, delicate and sensitive. His grand- 
mother, Josephine, called him a doux-entete, and her 
favorite name for him was "Oui-oui." 

As a youth, in the college at Augsburg, his profes- 
sors spoke of him with esteem as well as affection. 
He went through the discipline of the gymnasium 
with credit. During his vacations he travelled with 
his mother over every part of Switzerland. He 
visited his uncle Eugene at Munich and his father 
at Florence, and spent many winter months with 
his mother at Rome and Geneva. In the course of 

1:3143 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON 

these travels he became acquainted through the 
fascination of his mother and her love of society with 
many of the leading intelligences of his time. This 
companionship, and his mother's conversation, as 
well as that of his father, helped to develop his mind 
rapidly. Hortense took great pains to form his tastes 
and character, by giving him the society of the great 
and gifted. 

"Yet it cannot be denied," says Jerrold, "that the 
effect exercised by Queen Hortense on the character 
of her son Louis was enervating. She was a lover and 
seeker of pleasure to the end. All her friends were 
delightful and cultured companions. But she was 
no strict mistress of morals. There was much of the 
Bohemian in her nature. Louis could not but become 
kindly and charitable under the guidance and with 
the example of his mother, but he could hardly fail 
also to feel the influence of the very thin moral at- 
mosphere of her little court. The pleasures, the con- 
versation, the southern brio, that threw a rosy tint 
about slips in morals, were enervating surroundings 
to the young man whose single hand was to hold sway 
and mastery over an empire. In after-life, he showed 
deep traces of both the good and the evil of his moth- 
er's teaching and the society in which she brought 
him up. The good blossomed in a thousand acts of 
kindness, and the evil appeared in many weaknesses 
— all those of a tender heart — for which a bitter 
penalty was paid in the end." 

Like Hortense, Napoleon had the faculty of attract- 
ing people to him through the genuine interest he was 
able to take in their pursuits and hopes, and through 

1:3153 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the natural kindliness of his heart. He possessed the 
same qualities which made people cling to his mother, 
strangely mixed with the reserve and taciturnity of 
his father. It was a glory peculiar to both of the 
Napoleons that they were heroes to their valets. 
Charles Thelin, the valet of Louis Napoleon, remained 
devoted to him all his life, through good fortune and 
bad. He shared his imprisonment at Ham, helped his 
escape, and became under the Second Empire the 
Treasurer of his Privy Purse and an officer of the 
Legion d'honneur. 

When enrolled among the Swiss federal troops in 
the camp at Thun, Louis Napoleon was one of Colonel 
Dufour's best pupils in mathematics and artillery, 
and different works which he published show that 
his studies were neither superficial nor circumscribed. 
A fellow officer wrote of him at this time : "He is calm 
and thoughtful without ever ceasing to be affable. 
His vast military learning, especially in his own 
arm of the service, artillery, excited general sur- 
prise." In youth, as in mature years, he seems to have 
been studious, reflective and taciturn. 

As a young boy, Louis Napoleon was very delicate, 
but through the care of his mother he later became 
strong and vigorous, and so remained until his health 
was permanently impaired by the years of imprison- 
ment in the damp and malarious Chateau of Ham. 
He excelled in every branch of athletic sports. He was 
very fond of shooting and went frequently to the iir 
cantonal where he carried off many prizes as a marks- 
man. He was an excellent fencer, and practiced every 
week with a fencing-master who came from Constance. 

1:3163 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON 

He was one of the best swimmers in the lake. He was 
a superb rider, and was known as one of the most 
daring horsemen in the canton. 

At the time he became Emperor, Napoleon the 
Third was more extensively and more thoroughly 
educated than any other prince who ever ascended a 
throne. He spoke French, English, German, Italian 
and Spanish like a native. He was a good classical 
scholar, profound in mathematics and physics. Dur- 
ing his youth and manhood, he had been a diligent 
and systematic student, and his years at the "Univer- 
sity of Ham" had made him one of the best read and 
best informed men of his time. 

As soon as he arrived at sovereign power he began 
in earnest the series of efforts for the improvement 
of the conditions of the working classes upon which he 
had meditated much when in prison and in exile. In 
the course of his reign he made many errors, but he 
showed at all times a great desire for the improve- 
ment of mankind, and a knowledge of the wants 
and desires of the humbler classes far deeper than that 
of any contemporary ruler. The good which he was 
able to accomplish was only a small part of what he 
had in mind, but the improvement in the actual con- 
ditions of France during his reign was immense, and 
for this he deserves full credit. 

As Prince-President, as soon as the supreme power 
was in his hands, he had lost no time in beginning his 
work. He decreed the immediate laying down of the 
railway round Paris, ordered the vigorous renewal of 
public works in the capital, and the immediate demo- 
lition of the unsightly buildings that stood between 

C317II 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

the Tuileries and the Louvre, thereby beginning the 
great work of the completion of the Louvre and its 
junction with the Tuileries, which will always be 
associated with his name. Nor were his activities 
confined to Paris. Local improvements were begun 
in all the principal provincial cities ; both the canal and 
railway systems received a vigorous impetus ; and tele- 
graph lines were built to connect the principal cities. 

In his celebrated speech at Bordeaux, on the eve 
of the proclamation of the Empire, he had said : 

"Like the Emperor, I have many conquests to 
make. We have vast waste territories to drain and 
cultivate, roads to open, ports to be deepened, rivers 
to be made navigable, railways to be connected. Op- 
posite Marseille we have a great kingdom to assim- 
ilate to France. We have to connect our great west- 
ern ports with the American continent by lines of 
steamers. These are the conquests which I meditate.'* 

Says Jerrold: "In the hands of a bad, self-seeking 
man, such power as that which was embodied in 
Napoleon the Third on his accession to the throne 
might have led France to moral and material ruin; 
but the prince to whom she had confided her destinies 
was liberal, wise and humane, and he used the mighty 
force he held as a sacred trust, of which France might 
ask him an account at any moment. According to his 
light, he sought the happiness of his country, with a 
passionate longing to see it great and prosperous. 
Hence the all but absolute power he held, at the open- 
ing of his reign, conferred substantial and lasting 
benefits on his subjects." 

As Emperor he set on foot that mighty series of 

1:3183 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON 

public works in the capital which was destined to 
make Paris the Ville lumiere of the world and to be 
an immortal monument to his memory. The com- 
mercial and building actitivity in Paris was simply 
prodigious. Guizot said at the time that, "The city 
of Paris looks like a town that has been bombarded," 
and added, " but if the Emperor destroys like an 
Attila, he builds like an Aladdin." 

No finer tribute to Napoleon the man was ever 
paid than that of Queen Victoria, who, after her 
return to Osborne from a ten days' visit to the Em- 
peror and Empress at Saint-Cloud during the Ex- 
position of 1855, wrote in her Diary: "His society is 
particularly agreeable and pleasant; there is some- 
thing fascinating, melancholy and engaging, which 
draws you to him; he undoubtedly has a most ex- 
traordinary power of attracting people to him!" 

Baron von Moltke, who visited Paris a year later, 
and who certainly cannot be accused of partiality 
towards his host, in private letters which were first 
published in 1878, said: "Napoleon has nothing of 
the sombre sternness of his uncle, neither his im- 
perial demeanor nor his deliberate attitude. 'II ne se 
fache jamais,' say the people who are in most frequent 
intercourse with him. *I1 est toujours poll et bon 
envers nous; ce n'est que la bonte de son coeur et sa 
confiance qui pourront lui devenir dangereux.' Napo- 
leon has shown wisdom, firmness, self-confidence, 
but also moderation and clemency; and though simple 
in his dress, he does not forget that the French like 
to see their Sovereigns surrounded by a brilliant 
Court." 

[319] 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

Monsieur Ollivier has thus described his first im- 
pressions of the Emperor at the time he became 
connected with the Government in January 1867: 
" People have formed an erroneous idea of the person 
of the Emperor. He is represented as taciturn, impas- 
sible ; and in truth he appears so on public occasions. 
In his cabinet he is otherwise. His face is smiling. Al- 
though he does not break through a certain reserve, 
which looks almost like timidity, his address is cordial, 
of touching simplicity, and of seductive politeness. 
He listens like one who wishes to remember. When 
he has nothing decisive to answer, he lets the conver- 
sation flow. He interrupts, only to present, and this 
in excellent terms, a serious objection. His mind is 
not fettered by any mastering prejudice. You may 
say everything to him, even that which is contrary 
to his opinion, even the truth, provided you speak 
quietly and in personal sympathy with him. His 
changes, which have looked like dissimulation to 
many, are the natural movements of an impression- 
able nature. He forms his resolutions slowly, and he 
is not displeased when they are forced upon him by 
the weight of circumstances. If he were left alone, 
he would adapt himself to liberty." 

No one had fewer illusions than the Emperor re- 
garding the moral charcter of many of those in his 
entourage. He kept people in his service less from 
esteem and attachment than from custom and reluc- 
tance to make a change. For the most part he had a 
very poor opinion of his counsellors, his servants and 
his courtiers. On the other hand, he never forgot a 
good service rendered him. Like his mother, he prac- 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON 

ticed tolerance to an excessive degree, not only in 
politics but also in morals. All who came in contact 
with him yielded to the charm of his personality. 
Partisans or antagonists, once they knew him, united 
in saying: "It is impossible not to like him." He had 
inherited his attractive personality from his mother, 
and this also was the compelling charm of Josephine. 
He received from all who met him the title of a "per- 
fect gentleman." This the First Napoleon never was. 
With all his genius, he never displayed a true grandeur 
of soul, nor a real generosity of heart. If his nephew 
nad less claim to the admiration of men, he had 
better rights to their affections. Louis Napoleon never 
forgot the least service rendered him and, when he 
was in a position to do so, recompensed it in the most 
thoughtful and generous manner. 

The Great Emperor was always lacking in true 
dignity; ,as some one once said of him, he seemed to 
have been created to live in a tent. He did not know 
how to enter or leave a room, how to receive people 
either as a sovereign or a man of the world. His re- 
ceptions were like a review of his troops. His Grand 
Chamberlain, Talleyrand, used to circulate around 
the rooms, saying to every one, "Amuse yourselves, 
gentlemen, it is the wish of the Emperor." On the 
other hand, all who visited the Tuileries during the 
reign of the Third Napoleon were a unit in describing 
the charm of the Imperial fetes. 

In Napoleon the Third, the spirit of repartee was 
entirely lacking. Very fluent with his pen, he was 
very quiet and taciturn in general conversation. 
His uncle, on the other handj was as brilliant in speech 

C3213 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

as he was in action. Every one listened to him with 
interest, curiosity and pleasure. 

Hortense often cautioned her son against the too 
great effusion in speech which was one of the faults 
of the Great Emperor. She said: "Un prince doit 
savoir se taire, ou parler pour ne rien dire." 

Napoleon the Third had periods of gaiety, when, 
contrary to his habitude, he was expansive. Free from 
etiquette, he could be gracious and smiling. In the 
intimacy of his family he dropped the sovereign, and 
talked and laughed, like any good bourgeois. But 
even during the happiest days of the Empire he al- 
ways was prone to melancholy. Gravity was the basis 
of his character. 

Tenacity was his strongest characteristic. An idea 
once fixed in his head, he never abandoned it, al- 
though he was often very slow in carrying it out, as, 
for example, his delay of a year in assuming the Im- 
perial crown, when it was at all times within his 
grasp. 

It was one of his weaknesses to meditate too long 
before acting. Naturally inclined to temporize, he 
carried out slowly the plans upon which he had long 
decided. Towards the end of his reign, when matters 
of the highest importance called for immediate action, 
this defect in his character became a positive fault. 
As Bismarck once said, " II y a des moments, dans la 
politique exterieure, qui ne reviennent pas." Such a 
moment was the short period of six weeks prior to 
Sadowa in 1866, when he lost forever the last chance 
of curbing the rising power of Prussia, which four 
years later was to overwhelm France and destroy his 

C322] 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON 

dynasty. By taking too much time to prepare the 
ground and await the hour, he let pass the decisive 
moment for action. His fixed habit of procrastination 
caused him to lose an opportunity which never re- 
turned. 

By an unfortunate contradiction in his character, 
he often embarked rashly and hastily in enterprises 
which should have had long and careful examination. 
Such was the unfortunate Mexican expedition, which 
did so much to ruin his prestige in Europe. When he 
was in a mood to act, he went ahead blindly with- 
out taking counsel with any one, without even the 
knowledge of his Ministers. He did not stop to reflect, 
he formed his resolution and acted with a precipi- 
tancy which gave no opportunity for drawing back. 
It seemed to give him particular satisfaction, by some 
unexpected move, to take everybody by surprise. 
Several times these exploits turned out well, but he 
tempted his fate too often. 

It was the boast of the First Napoleon that he 
never held a Council of War, and he never did until 
the disastrous days of 1812 and 1813, when for the 
first time he began to lose confidence in his "star." 
But his nephew acted with more deference for his 
counsellors. In conference his opposition was always 
dissembled, and his real plans concealed. He only 
revealed his decisions when they had been finally 
reached, and often in part executed. 

People have often spoken of the phlegm of Napoleon 
the Third, but it was an acquired, not a natural 
gift. Like Talleyrand, he was very quick-tempered 
in his youth, and he had gradually disciplined his 

113233 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

nerves and acquired the art of concealing his feeUngs 
under a veil of impassivity. "When I met him again 
in 1848," related his old childhood friend Hortense 
Cornu, "I asked him what was the matter with 
his eyes. He replied: 'Nothing.' A few days later 
when I saw him again, his eyes seemed even more 
peculiar. Finally I discovered that he had formed 
the habit of keeping his eye-lids lowered, half- 
closed, which gave him a dreamy and vacant ex- 
pression." 

In his personal appearance, Louis Napoleon resem- 
bled his mother more than the Bonapartes. He was 
of medium height, a little taller than the First Napo- 
leon, who was about five feet six. He had the long 
body and short legs of his uncle, and therefore made 
a better appearance on horseback than at any other 
time. He had the high, broad, straight forehead, the 
light brown hair, and the well-shaped head, as well 
as the blue-gray eyes of the Great Emperor, but did 
not possess his cameo-like profile, with his round and 
firm chin. To conceal his defect in this latter respect, 
he wore ail his life the chin-whisker, slight in youth, 
but full and flowing in later life, which became known 
as an "imperial." His nose was large and aquiline, 
and not Roman like that of his uncle. Distinction was 
not a striking trait in his appearance, although as 
Emperor he had a certain dignity of bearing. 

"The character of Napoleon the Third," says 
Hassall, "is one of the most complex in modern French 
history. Kindness, generosity, gratitude, were all 
found in him ; he was aware of the needs of the world 
and of the national aspirations of France. He had 

113243 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON 

long been a private citizen, and he alone of French 
politicians had a practical knowledge of foreign coun- 
tries. Much that he did was beneficial to Europe 
and to France. His wish for the overthrow of the Aus- 
trians in Italy, his liberal commercial ideas, his op- 
position to the Jesuits, all were parts of a policy to 
be expected from a man who had seen much of the 
World. At the same time it is undoubted that he was 
a dreamer and idealist, with much of the fatalist in 
his composition. He showed infinite patience and 
perseverance in carrying out his ideas, and throughout 
his reign he endeavored to shape the course of history 
and to direct the course of the European powers." 

Having had the good fortune to arrive at supreme 
power through an appeal to the Napoleonic legend, 
it was his misfortune for the rest of his career to be 
expected by the world to live up to the Napoleonic 
tradition. His uncle was not only the greatest mili- 
tary genius of all time, but also one of the greatest 
administrators and statesmen known to history. But 
through the growth of the Napoleonic legend, in song 
and story, during the quarter of a century following 
his downfall and tragic exile and death at Saint 
Helena, he had been exalted from a super-man to a 
very demi-god. No mortal man could ever have 
measured up to such a standard. That his nephew 
failed to do so was his misfortune and not his fault. 
Napoleon the Third was beyond question one of the 
leading men of public affairs during the latter part 
of the 19th century. During the two decades that 
followed the Revolution of 1848 he played the 

C 325 3 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 

most important role not only in France but in all 
Europe. 

In conclusion we can only repeat: 

The story of his life reads like the pages of a great 
liistorical novel, and may well be called The Romance 
of an Emperor. 



1:3263 



THE BONAPARTES 

GENEALOGICAL TABLE 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

CHRONOLOGY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 



I Charles 
Bonaparte 



THE BONAPARTES 

GENEALOGICAL TABLE 

II III IV 

2 Joseph 

3 Napoleon I 7 Napoleon II 

fl5 Joseph 
16 Lucien 
17 Charles 
4 Lucien \ 9 Louis Lucien 



10 Pierre 18 Roland 

11 Napoleon Charles 

12 Napoleon Louis 

13 Napoleon III 19 Prince Imperial 

20 Victor 22 Louis 

21 Louis 
Compiled by the Author 



5 Louis " 



6 Jerome 14 Prince Napoleon 



C3293 



THE BONAPARTE FAMILY 

First Generation 

1. Charles Bonaparte, born at Ajaccio, Corsica, 29 March, 

1746; died at Montpellier, France, 24 February, 1785; in 
1765, married Letitia Ramolino, born at Ajaccio, 24 
August, 1750; died at Rome, 2 February, 1836. Children: 
(2) Joseph, (3) Napoleon, (4) Lucien, (5) Louis, (6) 
Jerome, Elise, Pauline, Caroline. 

Second Generation 

2. Joseph, King of Spain, born at Corte, Corsica, 7 January, 

1768; died at Florence, 28 July, 1844; in 1794 married 
Julie Clary. No sons. 

3. Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, born at Ajaccio, Cor- 

sica, 15 August, 1769; died at Longwood, Saint Helena, 
5 May, 1821; married, 1st, 9 March, 1796, Josephine de 
Beauharnais, born at Trois-Ilets, Martinique, 23 June, 
1763; died at Malmaison, 29 May, 18 14; divorced 1809; 
married, 2nd, 11 March, 18 10, Marie-Louise, born at 
Vienna, 12 December, 1791; died at Vienna, December, 
1847. Son: (7) Napoleon II. 

4. LuciEN, Prince of Canino (in Italy), born at Ajaccio, 21 

May, 1775; died at Viterbo, Italy, 30 June, 1840; married, 
1st, 4 May, 1794, Christine Boyer, by whom he had two 
daughters; married, 2nd, 23 October, 1803, Alexandrine 
de Bleschamp (Madame Jouberthou). Children: (8) 
Charles, (9) Louis Lucien, (10) Pierre and two other 
sons and four daughters. 

5. Louis, King of Holland, born at Ajaccio, 2 September, 1778; 

died at Leghorn, Italy, 25 July, 1846; married 4 January, 
1802, Hortense de Beauharnais, born at Paris 10 April, 1783; 
died at Arenenberg, Switzerland, 5 October, 1837. Chil- 
li 330] 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

dren: (ii) Napoleon Charles, (12) Napoleon Louis, 
and (13) Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III). 
6. Jerome, King of Westphalia, born at Ajaccio, 15 November, 
1784; died near Paris, 24 June, i860; married, ist, 24 
December, 1803, Elizabeth Patterson, of Baltimore, born 
6 February, 1785; died 4 April, 1879; one son, Jerome 
Napoleon, born at Camberwell, England, 7 July, 1805; 
died at Pride's Crossing, Massachusetts, 4 September, 1893; 
he had two sons, Jerome Napoleon and Charles Joseph, 
The former has a son of the same name, born 1878. Charles 
Joseph has no children. King Jerome married, 2nd, 22 
August, 1807, after annulment of the Patterson marriage, 
the Princess Catherine of Wiirtemberg. Children: (14) 
Napoleon Joseph, and Mathilde, born at Trieste, 20 May, 
1820; died at Paris, 2 January 1904; married Prince 
Demidov. 

Elise, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, born at Ajaccio, 3 
January, 1777; died near Trieste, 6 August, 1820; married 
in 1797, Felix Bacciochi. 

Pauline, Princesse Borghese, born at Ajaccio, 20 October, 
1780; died at Florence, 9 June, 1825; married 28 August 
1803, Prince Borghese. 

Caroline, Queen of Naples, born at Ajaccio, 25 March, 
1782; died at Florence, 18 May, 1839; married in 1800 
Joachim Murat, who became King of Naples in 1808. He 
was born 25 March, 1771; executed in Italy, 13 October, 
1 81 5. Two son&: 

(a) Napoleon Achille Murat, born 1801, died 1847, 
who emigrated to America in 1821, and was postmaster 
at Tallahassee, Florida, from 1826 to 1838. He married a 
great-niece of Washington. 

(b) Napoleon Lucien Charles Murat, born 1803, died 
1878; married Georgiana Frazer. He also lived in America 
from 1825 to 1848; was given title of Prince Murat by Napo- 
leon HI. Children: Joachim, Prince Murat (1834-1901), 
Achille (1847-1895), Louis (185 1- ). 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



Third Generation 

7. Napoleon II, King of Rome, Duke of Reichstadt, born at 

Paris, 20 March, 1811; died at Vienna, 22 July, 1832. 
Never married. 

8. Charles, born at Paris, 24 May, 1803, died at Paris, 29 

July, 1857, married at Brussels, 29 June, 1822, his cousin 
Zenaide, born 8 July, 1804, died 8 August, 1854, daughter 
of King Joseph, by whom he had three sons and five 
daughters. The branch is now extinct. 

9. LuciEN Louis, born at Thorngrove, England, 4 January, 

1 813; died 3 November, 1891; married; left no children. 

10. Pierre, born at Rome, 12 September, 181 5; died at Ver- 

sailles, 7 April, 1881; married 3 November, 1867, Justine 
Eleonore Ruffin, by whom he had, before his marriage, two 
children: (18) Roland and Jeanne. In January, 1870, he 
killed Victor Noir. 

11. Napoleon Charles, born at Paris, 10 October, 1802; died 

at The Hague, 5 May, 1807. 

12. Napoleon Louis, born at Paris, 11 October, 1804; died at 

Forli, Italy 27 March, 1831; married his cousin, Charlotte, 
(i 802-1 839) daughter of King Joseph. No children. 

13. Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, born at Paris, 20 

April, 1808; died at Chislehurst, near London, 9 January, 
1873; married 30 January, 1853, Eugenie de Montijo, born 
at Granada, Spain, 5 May, 1826; died at Madrid, 11 
July, 1920. One son: (19) Napoleon Louis, the Prince 
Imperial. 

14. Napoleon Joseph, called Prince Napoleon, born at Trieste, 

9 September, 1822; died at Rome, 17 March 1891; married 
in January, 1859, Princess Clotilde, daughter of King Victor 
Emmanuel. Children: (20) Victor, (21) Louis, and 
Marie Laetitia born 20 December, 1866, who married in 
September, 1888, her maternal uncle Amadeus, Duke of 
Aosta, ex-King of Spain, and brother of King Humbert of 
Italy, by whom she had one son, Humbert, born in 1889. 

C3323 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



Fourth Generation 

15. Joseph, Prince of Canino, born at Philadelphia, 13 Feb- 

ruary, 1824; died 1865; left no heirs. 

16. LuciEN, Cardinal Bonaparte, born at Rome, 15 November, 

1828; died in 1895. 

17. Charles, born 5 February, 1839, died in 1899; married 26 

November, 1859, the Princess Ruspoli,by whom he had two 
daughters, born in 1870 and 1872. 

18. Roland, born 19 May, 1858; married 7 November, 1880, 

Marie Blanc, the daughter of the proprietor of the gambling 
establishment at Monte Carlo. She died i August, 1882, 
leaving him one daughter and an enormous fortune. His 
daughter, Marie, in 1907, married Prince George, second 
son of King George of Greece. 

19. Napoleon Louis, the Prince Imperial, born at Paris 16 

March, 1856; killed in Zululand, South Africa, i June, 
1879. Never married. 

20. Napoleon Victor, Prince Napoleon, present head of the 

Bonaparte family, born at Paris, 18 July, 1862; married 
14 November, 1910, the Princess Clementine, born 1872, 
daughter of Leopold II, King of the Belgians. She is a 
cousin of the present King Albert; two children: Clotilde, 
born at Brussels, 20 March, 191 2, and (22) Louis Napo- 
leon, born at Brussels, 23 January, 1914. 

21. Louis Napoleon, born at Paris, 16 July, 1864. He was a 

General of Cavalry in the Russian Army, and, in 1906, 
Governor of the Caucasus. Never married. 

Fifth Generation 

22. Louis Napoleon, son and heir of Prince Napoleon, bom at 

Brussels, 23 January, 1914. 



C3333 



CHRONOLOGY 

1778 Birth of Louis Bonaparte, at Ajaccio, 2 September 

1783 Birth of Hortense de Beauhamais, at Paris, 10 April 

1802 Marriage of Louis and Hortense, at Paris, 4 January 

Birth of Napoleon Charles, at Paris, 10 October 

1804 Birth of Napoleon Louis, at Paris, 11 October 

1806 Louis, King of Holland, 5 June 

1807 Death of Napoleon Charles, at The Hague, 5 May 

1808 Birth of Louis Napoleon, at Paris, 20 April 
1 8 10 Abdication of King Louis, i July 

1814 Abdication of Napoleon, 11 April 

1815 Napoleon Returns from Elba, 2 March 
Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 
Hortense Leaves Paris, 19 July 

1816 Hortense at Constance, Switzerland 

1817 Purchase of Arenenberg, 17 February 

183 1 Italian Insurrection, March 

Death of Napoleon Louis, at Forli, 27 March 

1832 Death of Napoleon the Second, at Vienna, 22 July 

1836 The Strasbourg Attempt, 30 October 
Louis Exiled to America, 21 November 

1837 Louis Arrives in London, 10 July 

Death of Hortense, at Arenenberg, 5 October 

1838 Louis Leaves Switzerland for London, 14 October 
1840 The Boulogne Attempt, 6 August 

Prisoner at Ham, 7 October 

1846 Escape from Ham, 25 May 

1848 Revolution at Paris, 24 February 

Louis Napoleon Elected Deputy, 17 September 
President of the Republic, 20 December 

1851 Coup d'Etat, 2 December 

1852 Second Empire Proclaimed, 2 December 

1853 Marriage with Eugenie, 30 January 



CHRONOLOGY 

1854 Crimean War Begins, March 

Alma, 20 September; Balaklava, 25 October; Inkerman 
5 November 

1855 Exposition — Visit of Queen Victoria, in June 
Surrender of Sebastopol, 8 September 

1856 Birth of Prince Imperial, 16 March 
Treaty of Paris, 30 March 

1858 Attempt of Orsini, 14 January 
Cavour at Plombieres, July 

1859 The Italian War 

Magenta, 4 June; Solferino, 24 June 

Treaty of Villafranca, 1 1 July 
i860 Annexation of Savoy and Nice, March 

Visit to Corsica, September 
1862 Mexican Expedition, January 

1864 Maximilian Lands at Vera Cruz, 28 May 

1865 Death of Morny, 10 March 

1866 Battle of Sadowa, 3 July 

1867 Second Paris Exposition 
Maximilian Shot in Mexico, 19 July 

1870 Hohenzollern Candidature, July 
Ems Dispatch, 13 July 

War with Prussia, 19 July ' 

Worth, 6 August; Gravelotte, 18 August 
Surrender at Sedan, 2 September 
Third French Republic, 4 September 

1 871 Occupation of Paris, i March 
Napoleon at Chislehurst, 20 March 
Peace of Frankfort, 10 May 

1873 Death of Napoleon, 9 January 
1879 Death of Prince Imperial, i June 
1920 Death of Eugenie, 11 July 



Csss] 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

There Is no adequate biography of Napoleon the Third ex- 
cept the masterly work of Blanchard Jerrold in four large 
volumes of over two thousand pages, published in London be- 
tween the years 1874 ^^^ 1882. The book is now out of print, 
and difficult to find except in a few large public libraries. In 
making his researches the author had the active assistance of the 
Imperial family, who placed at his disposal a mass of valuable 
papers which supplied him with the materials for many import- 
tant passages of his history. His spirit is sympathetic, but in 
the main impartial. It is the best English biography, and is the 
authoritative work on the subject. 

The "Memoirs of the Empress Eugenie" (1920) contain but 
little fresh matter, and throw no new light on the history of 
the Second Empire. 

Of less importance, but not without interest, are the following 
books: 

W. A. Eraser, "Napoleon III" (1895) 

A. Forbes, "Life of Napoleon III" (1898) 

F. A. Simpson, "The Rise of Louis Napoleon" (1909) 

AuGUSTiN FiLON, "The Prince Imperial" (Translation) 

Among the many French works may be mentioned: 

P. DeLano, three volumes under different titles. 

F. Loliee, several volumes on the Second Empire, under differ- 
ent titles. 

F. Masson, "Napoleon et sa Famille," in ten volumes, and six 
volumes on Napoleon I, under different titles, which are 
the best authority on the Bonaparte family during the 
period of the First Empire. 

Syl vain-Blot, "Napoleon III" (1899) 

H. Thirria, "Napoleon III avant I'Empire" (1895) 

1:3363 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

There are also many general histories of conspicuous ability, 
both in English and French, which cover the period of the Second 
Empire. Among these may be mentioned: 

English 

C. K. Adams, "Democracy and Monarchy in France." The 
author tries to show that the political weakness of the 
Second Empire was the legitimate result of the doctrines of 
the previous century. 

C. B. Cavour, "Biography" in Foreign Statesmen Series 

C. A. Fyffe, "Modern Europe" 

A. Hassall, "The French People" (1917). Half of the volume is 
given to the period from the French Revolution to the close 
of 19th century. Well written. 

C. D. Hazen, "Europe Since 1815." Very interesting. 

H. MuRDOCK, "The Reconstruction of Europe," (1889) 

H. Van Laun, "The French Revolutionary Epoch." A descrip- 
tion of events, rather than a discussion of causes and con- 
sequences. 

French 

P. De La Gorge, "Histoire du Second Empire" (1868-1905) 
Taxile-Delord, "Histoire du Second Empire" (1868-1875) 
A masterly work in six volumes. Begun several years be- 
fore the fall of the Second Empire, it was completed in 1874. 
It shows thorough research, and great literary art. A pow- 
erful arraignment of the Imperial regime. 
A. Thomas, "Le Second Empire" (1907) 



C3373 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Alba, Duchess of, 200, 211 
Alexander I, Czar, 20 
Alexander II, Czar, 163, 219 
"Ambes, Baron d'," 9, 17 
Anglo-French alliance of 1854, 159 
Anglo-French commercial treaty, 224 
Aosta, Duchess of, 304 
Arenenberg, chateau of, 28, 29, 48 
Arese, Count, 71, 179, 195 
Army, French, 99, 258, 259, 262 
Aumale, Due d', 46, 134 
Austria, precipitates the Italian war, 

184; her defeats in Italy, 185; war 

with Prussia, 247 

Baden, Grand Duchess Stephanie of, 
see Stephanie 

Baden, meeting of Sovereigns at, 209 

Balaclava, battle of, see Crimean War 

Bazaine, Marshal, 276, 281 

Beauharnais, Vicomte de, 3 

Beauharnais, Prince Eugene, 24, 28, 
35, 36, 76, ISO 

Beauregard, Coratesse de, 1 10, 143 

Benedetti, M., 264 

Bertrand, Abbe, 32 

Biarritz, Napoleon III and Count 
Bismarck at, 246 

Bismarck, Count, in Paris during the 
Exhibition of 1867, 219; Prussian 
Minister, 244; speech to the Prus- 
sian chamber, 245; repairs to Bi- 
arritz, 246; efforts to secure the 
neutrality of France in the war with 
Austria, 247; the HohenzoUern can- 
didature, 263; the Ems dispatch, 
266; conversations with the Em- 
peror at Sedan, 288 

Bonaparte, Caroline, 7, 74 

Bonaparte, King Jerome, 10, 52, 123, 

137 
Bonaparte, King Joseph, 52, 69, 71 



Bonaparte, King Louis, his youth, 3; 
his character, 4; his marriage, 7; 
first years of married life, 8; gov- 
ernor of Paris, 12; King of Holland, 
13; quarrels with his wife, 13; ob- 
jects to becoming King of Spain, 18; 
abdicates, 19; obtains his eldest 
son after a lawsuit, 26; death of, 112 
Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon, 167, 179, 

183 
Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon Charles, 

9>H 
Bonaparte, Prince Napoleon Louis, 12, 

38, 40, 41 
Bonaparte, Prince Pierre, 304 
Bonaparte, Prince Roland, 304 
Bonaparte, Prin"« Victor Napoleon, 

303 
Bordeaux, Duke of, see Chambord 
Bordeaux, speech of the Prince Presi- 
dent at, 160 
Borny, battle of, 278 
Boulogne, Prince Louis Napoleon's 

expedition against, 89-91 
Brault, Eleonore, 62 
Brunswick, Duke of, 105, 106 
Bulwer, Sir E. L., his estimate of 
Prince Louis Napoleon, 86 

Carlotta, Empress, 242 
Castiglione, Comtesse de, 177 
Cauterets, 14 

Cavaignac, General, 96, 118, 123, 124 
Cavour, Count, 175-187 
Chambord, Comte de, 127 
Changarnier, General, 127, 131, 276 
Chantilly, chateau of, 45 
Charlemagne, 84, 102, 103 
Chateaubriand, M. de, 53 
Chevalier, M. Michel, 225 
Chinese War, 237-240 
Chislehurst, Napoleon at, 293-297 



C34O 



INDEX 



Clementine, Princess, 303 
Clotilde, Princess, 179 
Cobden, Richard, 225 
Conneau, Dr., 72, 108, 115, 179 
Constance, residence of Queen Hor- 

tense at, 26-27 
Constantine, Grand Duke, 170 
Constitution of 1852, 141 
Cornu, Mme., 98 
Corps Legislatif, 155-156 
Corvisart, Dr., 16 
Coup d'etat, 131-141 
Cowley, Lord, 141, 149 
Crimean War, 160-164 

Denmark, Austro-Prussian invasion 

of, 245 
Ducrot, General, 258; at Sedan, 284 
Dumas, Alexandre, 55 
Duncombe, Sir Thomas, 105, 106 

Elysee Palace, 21, 126 

Ems, M. Benedetti's interviews with 
the King of Prussia at, 265-268 

England, excitement in, on subject of 
national defences, 148; recognizes 
Napoleon, 149; alliance with 
France, 161; visit of the French 
Emperor and Empress to, 165; 
attitude on the Italian question, 
188; commercial treaty with 
France, 224; reception of Emperor 
in, after Sedan, 293 

Eugenie, Empress, early sympathy for 
the prisoner of Ham, 104; her 
beauty and education, 152; pre- 
sented at the Elysee, 152; her en- 
gagement to Napoleon III an- 
nounced in a speech from the throne, 
152; her marriage ceremonial, 153; 
visit to Windsor, 164; birth of 
Prince Imperial, 167; her char- 
acter, 254; liberation of Italy, 255; 
influence on public affairs, 255, 260; 
advocates the war against Prussia, 
256; opposes return of Napoleon to 
Paris, 281; visit to the Emperor at 
Wilhelmshohe, 292; at his death- 
bed, 296; residence at Famborough 
and Cap Martin, 305-306; death 



at Madrid, 306-308; interred at 
Famborough, 308; her career, 309 
Exhibition, Paris, of 1855, 170 
Exhibition, Paris, of 1867, 218 

Famborough Hill, residence of Em- 
press, 305 

February, 1848, revolution of, 118 

Fesch, Cardinal, 43 

Flahaut, M. de, 19, 20 

Flahaut, Mme. de, 134 

Fleury, Colonel (General), 132 

Fontainebleau, baptismal ceremony 
in the Palace chapel, 18 

France, under Louis-Philippe, 60, 83, 
87; under the Provisional Govern- 
ment of 1848, 118; election of Presi- 
dent in 1848, 124; conflict between 
the President and the Assembly, 
130; approves the coup d'etat, 
141; the Constitution of 1852, 141; 
alliance with England, 159; pros- 
perity of, under Napoleon III, 166; 
alliance with Sardinia, 184; the 
Italian campaign, 185; commercial 
treaty with England, 224; repeal 
of the navigation laws, 229; war 
with Prussia, 270; popularity of the 
war, 271; negotiations with Italy 
and their failure, 281 

Francis Joseph, Emperor, 150, 186 

Franco-German war, political calm 
preceding, 261; the Hohenzollern 
candidature for the throne of Spain, 
2^3; Due de Gramont's instruc- 
tions to M. Benedetti, 264; council 
at Saint-Cloud, 265; Count Bis- 
marck's machinations, 266; Prus- 
sian preparations, 272; the French 
unprepared for v/ar, 272; position 
of the French and German forces, 
275; first disasters of the French, 
275; Marshal Bazaine in command, 
276; movements of the armies, 285; 
French retreat and further disasters, 
285; Sedan, 285. 

Frederick Charles of Prussia, Prince, 

Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia, 

275 



C3423 



INDEX 



Gambetta, M. Leon, 293 
Garibaldi, General, 202, 203, 205 
Gordon, Mme., see Brault, Eleonore 
Gottlieben Castle, 81 
Graraont, Due de, 190, 201, 264 
Gravelotte, battle of, 280 
Greville, Sir Charles, 226 
Guizot, M., 116, 117, 227 

Ham, Chateau, Prince Louis Na- 
poleon's imprisonment in, 95; es- 
cape from, 107; destruction of, 95 

Hamilton, Duke of, 112, 141 

Hamilton, Duchess of, 85, in, 151 

Haussmann, Baron, 212 

HohenzoUern, Prince Leopold of, can- 
didate for the throne of Spain, 263 

Holland, Prince Louis Bonaparte, 
King of, 13, 18 

"Holy Places," 161 

Hortense (de Beauhamais), Queen of 
Holland, 3; description and char- 
acter of, S; a pupil of Mme. 
Campan, 5; her accomplishrnents, 
5; her marriage, 7; first year of her 
marriage, 8; at Saint-Leu, 12; her 
court at The Hague, 13; grief at 
the loss of her son, 14; birth of 
Napoleon HI, 16; her separation 
from her husband, 19; her residence 
at Saint-Leu, 20; her interview 
with the Emperor, 21; the Hundred 
Days, 21; exiled from France, 25; 
her journey to Switzerland, 25; 
lawsuit with her husband, 26; 
settles at Aix, 26; her journey to 
Constance, 26; and residence there, 
27; her life at Arenenberg, 30-32; 
her affection for her children, 31; at 
Rome in 1830, 39; her stay at 
Florence, 41; her son's illness at 
Ancona, 42; escapes through the 
Austrian lines, 42; journey through 
France; 43; interview with Louis- 
Philippe, 43; arrives with her son 
in London, 44; returns to France, 
45; journey through France, 47; to 
Arenenberg, 47; described by Cha- 
teaubriand and Alexandre Dumas 
at Arenenberg, 53-56; intercedes 



for Louis, 67; her ill health, 72; her 

farewell letter, 72; her death, 74; 

her maxims, 79; her last wishes, 80; 

her memoirs, 80 
Howard, Miss, see Beauregard 
Hugo, Victor, 146 

Idees Napoleoniennes, 86, 154 

Inkermann, battle of, see Crimean 
War 

Irving, Washington, 71 

Italy, revolution of 1830, 40; Aus- 
trian intervention and defeat of 
the revolutionaries, 41; the war 
of liberation, 175; Count Cavour's 
plans, 176; conference of Cavour 
and the Emperor at Plombieres, 
182; proposed cession of Savoy 
and Nice, 183; commencement of 
the war, 185; French victories, 185; 
the treaty of Zurich, 191; cession 
of Savoy and Nice, 193; establish- 
ment of the kingdom of, 203 ; al- 
liance with Prussia, 247; obtains 
Venetia, 248; negotiations with 
France in 1870, 281 

Joinville, Prince de, 93, 94, 134 
Josephine (Empress), character of, 
5-6; procures the marriage of Louis 
Bonaparte and Hortense, 7; her 
death and estate, 24; her appeal to 
the Emperor before the battle of 
Wagram, 55 

La Fayette, M. de, 58 

Lamoriciere, General, 198, 201, 202 

Le Bas, M., 33 

Leboeuf, Marshal, 280 

Legislative Assembly, composition of, 
129 

Lesseps, M. de, loi 

Leu, Saint-, home of Queen Hortense, 
12; church at, 25 

Leuchtenberg, Duke of, see Beau- 
hamais, Prince Eugene 

Lindsay, Mr. W. L., 229 

Louis-Philippe, King, his interviews 
with Queen Hortense, 42, 43; 
blunders of his government, 60, 



C3433 



INDEX 



83 > 87; presents money to Prince 
Louis, 68; his relations with Swit- 
zerland, 81; demands the expul- 
sion of Prince Louis from Switzer- 
land, 81; imminence of war with 
Switzerland, 81; determines to 
convey the remains of Napoleon I 
to France, 93; his foreign policy, 
116; fall of his dynasty, 118; per- 
mits King Jerome to reside in 
France, 123; his letter to Charles X, 
128 
Louvre, completion of, 212 
Luxembourg, question of, 251 

MacMahon, Marshal, 280, 282, 284 

Magenta, battle of, 185 

Magnan, General (Marshal), 134 

Malmaison, Chateau of, 21, 22, 24 

Malmesbury, Earl of, 37, 104, 262, 294 

Marie-Louise, Empress, 18, 51 

Marrast, M., 124 

Mars-la-Tour, battle of, 279 

Masson, F., 7, 15 

Mathilde, Princess, 151 

Maupas, M. de (Prefect of Police), 
I34» 136 

Maximilian, Emperor, 242 

Mehemet Ali, 87, 117 

Melbourne, Lord, 83 

Menotti, General, 40 

Merimee, M. Prosper, 255 

Mexico, French expedition to, 240 

Mocquard, M., 80, 134, 135 

Moltke, Count von, 169, 272, 283 

Montholon, General, 96 

Montebello, Due de, 81 

Morny, Due de, his birth, 19; joins 
the councils of Prince Louis Na- 
poleon, 133; character and ante- 
cedents, 133; appointed Minister 
of the Interior, 139; death of, 231 

Murat, General (King of Naples), 7, 
126 

Napoleon I, Emperor, his treatment of 
Louis Bonaparte, 4; question of 
the Imperial succession, 11; makes 
Louis King of Holland, 13; pro- 
poses to make Louis King of Spain, 
18; his joy at the birth of Prince 



Louis, 18; returns from Elba, 21; 
interview with Hortense, 21; on 
Josephine's death, 21; visits Mal- 
maison for the last time, 21; on 
the "hope of his race," 22; his 
death, 35; Josephine's appeal to, 
56; his return from Elba, 63, 64; 
his political institutions adopted 
by his nephew, 86, 154; the design 
of conveying his remains to France, 
92; his remains brought to Paris, 
93; interment of his remains in 
the Invalides, 94; his proposed 
monument to Charlemagne, 103; 
his tomb visited by Queen Victoria, 
172 
Napoleon II, see Reichstadt, Due de 
Napoleon, Prince Louis, his birth and 
early childhood, 16; baptism of, 18; 
with his uncle, 22; with his mother 
at Constance, 26; his childhood 
days at Arenenberg, 31; his early 
education, 33; his way of life at 
Arenenberg, 34; his military edu- 
cation, 37; sketch of, 38; his af- 
fection for his brother, 38; his 
sympathy with the Italian in- 
surgents, 39; at Rome In 1830, 39; 
conducted to the frontier, 40; joins 
the Italian insurgents, 41; quits the 
revolutionary army, 41; severe ill- 
ness of, 41; escapes from Ancona, 
42; adventures by the way, 42; 
journey through France, 42; at 
Fontainebleau, 43; in Paris, 43; 
arrives in London, 44; journey 
through France with his mother, 45; 
at Arenenberg, 48; his horseman- 
ship, 49; correspondence with his 
father, 50; belief in his destiny, 51; 
becomes head of the family, 51; 
becomes captain of artillery, 57; 
his interest in the afiFairs of France, 
58; his political aspirations, 58; 
the Napoleonic legend, 59; pre- 
liminaries of the Strasbourg ex- 
pedition, 62; chances of success, 
63; sets out for Strasbourg, 65; his 
arrival and plan of operations, 65; 
his reception by the 4th Artillery, 



C3443 



INDEX 



65; made prisoner, 66; sent to the 
United States, 68; leaves Lorient, 
68; furnished with money by the 
King, 68; his arrival in America, 69; 
at New York, 70; his stay in 
America, 71; receives intelligence 
of his mother's illness, 71; his visit 
to Washington Irving, 71; leaves 
America, 74; arrives in Europe, 74; 
refused passports, 74; reaches Ar- 
enenberg, 74; at his mother's bed- 
side, 74; demand for his expulsion 
from Swiss territory, 81; residence 
at Gottlieben, 81; decision of the 
Swiss diet respecting demand for 
his expulsion from Switzerland, 82; 
hostile attitude of France and 
Switzerland, 82; leaves Arenen- 
berg for England, 82; reasons for 
going to England, 83; note from 
French Government concerning, 83 ; 
his life in England, 84; publishes 
the "Idees Napoleoniennes," 86; 
decides on the attempt on Boulogne, 
87; leaves London, 88; his landing 
at Boulogne and reception, 89; 
failure of the expedition, 90; taken 
prisoner with his companions in 
arms, 90; before the Chamber of 
Peers, 91; imprisoned at Ham, 91; 
disposition of his affairs, 92; his 
quarters in the fortress, 96; re- 
sumes his studies in prison, 97; 
his prison life, 97, 98; his corre- 
spondents, 98; retrospect of his 
literary work, 98; his intellectual 
activity, 99; proposed history of 
Charlemagne, 102; condition of 
his prison, 102; letter from Sis- 
mondi, 103; prison romance, 104; 
alleged treaty with the Duke of 
Brunswick, 105; refuses to sue for 
pardon, 107; escapes from Ham, 
108; narrative of his escape, 109; 
relations with Miss Howard, no; 
fails to obtain passports, 112; his 
house In King Street, 113; his 
money transactions, 114; reported 
poverty of, 114; departure from 
London, 119; arrival in Paris, 119; 



returns to England, 120; elected 
deputy, 120; final departure from 
England for France, 120; his elec- 
tion for five departments, 120; at 
the Hotel du Rhin, 120; his first 
speech in the Assembly, 121; the 
only representative of the Napole- 
onic legend, 122; prospects of his 
election as President, 122; popu- 
larity of his candidature, 123; pro- 
claimed President of the Republic, 
124; takes the oath of fidelity, 124; 
majority for his election, 124; in- 
stalled in the Elysee, 125; consents 
to restriction of universal suffrage, 
130; breach with the Assembly, 
130; hostility of the Assembly, 131; 
removal of General Changarnler, 
131; resolves on the coup d'etat, 
131; his demeanor on the day of 
the coup d'etat, 135; high spirits 
of, 135; reception at the Elysee, 135; 
the "Rubicon," 135; council of the 
coup d'etat, 135; the next morning, 
137; his triumphant progress 
through the streets of Paris, 137; 
on the night of the coup d'etat, 138; 
new ministry, 139; insurrectionary 
movements against, 140; sudden ap- 
pearance among the insurgents, 140; 
suppression of the Insurrection, 140; 
at the Duchess of Hamilton's ball, 
141; the coup d'etat approved by 
vote of the nation, 141; urged to 
assume the Imperial dignity, 143; 
the plebiscite, 144; letter to M. 
Vielllard, 145; assumes the title of 
Napoleon III, 149; see Napoleon 
III, Boulogne, Strasbourg, etc. 
Napoleon III (Emperor), proclama- 
tion of the Empire, 146; English 
hostility, 148; Lord Cowley's anec- 
dote, 149; recognized by England, 
149; and by other Powers, 150; 
approaching marriage of, 151; mat- 
rimonial ventures, 151; announce- 
ment of his engagement to Eugenie 
de Montijo, 152; her origin, 152; 
his Court, 153; simple habits, 153; 
his work during the first year of the 



n34S3 



INDEX 



Empire, 155; the English alliance, 
159; the Crimean War, 160; the 
Treaty of Paris, 163; visit of him- 
self and the Empress to Queen Vic- 
toria, 164; reception in London and 
at Windsor, 165; invested with the 
Garter, 165; birth of an heir, 167; 
the Exhibition of 1855, 170; re- 
ceives Queen Victoria at Boulogne, 
170; conducts her to the tomb of 
Napoleon, 172; conversation on 
the Orleans family, 173; impres- 
sions of the Queen, 173; Congress 
of Paris, 177; Madame de Castig- 
lione, 178; Orslni's attempt on, 
180; compact with Count Cavour, 
182; his Italian projects, 183; 
treaty with Sardinia, 184; the Aus- 
trian ultimatum, 184; his victories 
in Italy, 185; proposes an armistice, 
186; reasons for his action, 186; 
peace of Villafranca, 186; relations 
with the Vatican, 189; Thouvenel, 
Foreign Minister, 191; on the an- 
nexation of Savoy and Nice, 196; 
first meeting with Pius Ninth, 197; 
visits to Corsica and Algeria, 199, 
211; grand reviews of 1855 and 
1859, 206; meeting with German 
sovereigns, 209; reconstruction of 
Paris, 212; his private life at the 
Tulleries, 215; rooms in the Tuil- 
erles, 216; exposition of 1867, 218; 
constitutional reforms, 222; loss 
of prestige, 223; commercial treaty 
with England, 224; opposition of 
the Church, 226; accords free 
speech to Legislative Bodies, 228; 
change in navigation laws, 229; 
visit to M. de Morny's death-bed, 
231; confides government to 01- 
livier, 232; rise of the Third Party, 
232; plebiscite of 1870, 233; the 
Syrian expedition, 235; Chinese 
war, 237; Mexican expedition, 240; 
interviews with Count Bismarck, 
246; duped by the German states- 
man, 247; attitude on the Schles- 
wlg-Holstein question, 251; Mexican 
expedition and the American Civil 



War, 251; defied by Count Bis- 
marck, 252; his love affairs, 253; 
effect on the State, 255; growing 
influence of the Empress, 255; pro- 
posed increase of the army, 258; 
illness of, 260, 277; "crowning the 
edifice," 261; perplexity of his 
position, 261; the HohenzoUern 
candidature, 263; precipitancy of 
his ministers, 264; the Ems dis- 
patch, 266; war determined on, 
270; on his reverses in the war, 271; 
the condition of his army, 272; 
disposition of his forces, 275; 
transfers command to Marshal 
Bazalne, 276; joined by General 
Changarnler at Metz, 276; re- 
turns to Chalons, 280; pernicious 
influence of the Empress, 281; ne- 
gotiations with Italy, 281; follows 
the army, 285; at Sedan, 285; 
hoists the flag of truce, 286; letter 
to King of Prussia, 286; meeting 
with Bismarck and the King, 288; 
conducted to Wilhelmshohe, 290; 
life at Wilhelmshohe, 291; reception 
in England, 293; at Chislehurst, 
294; his last illness and death, 296; 
his obsequies, 297; his remains and 
those of his son, 305; his mission, 
313; his heredity, 314; his youth 
and education, 314; his mother's 
influence, 315; his personal at- 
tractiveness, 315; his excellence in 
sports, 316; his powers as a linguist, 
317; his efforts to improve France, 
317-318; his personality, 319; his 
entourage, 320; his dignity, 321; 
his affability, 322; his tenacity, 322; 
his lack of decision, 322; his love of 
startling effects, 323; his impas- 
sibility, 324; his personal appear- 
ance, 324; his place in history, 325 

Napoleon, Eugene Louis (Prince Im- 
perial), his birth, 167; at review of 
1859, 207; at Saarbruck, 298; 
brought to England after Sedan, 
299; at his father's death-bed, 300; 
graduates at Woolwich, 300; vol- 



1:3463 



INDEX 



unteers for service in South Africa, 

301; killed by Zulus, 302 
Napoleon Charles (Prince Royal of 

Holand), see Bonaparte 
Napoleon Louis (second son of Hor- 

tense), see Bonaparte 
Napoleon, Prince (cousin of Napoleon 

III), see Bonaparte 
Navigation laws, French, repeal of, 

229 
Nicaragua, proposed canal of, loi, 241 
Nicholas, Czar, 149, 160, 163 
Niel, Marshal, 259 
Nigra, Chevalier, 195 
North German Confederation, 249 

OUivier, M. Emile, 133, 232, 258 
Orsini, Fehce, 180 
Orsi, Joseph, 87, 8S, 105 

Palikao, Count, 237, 238 

Palmerston, Lord, 235 

Paris, the grand avenues of, 75; 
during the coup d'etat, 139; 
"massacre of the boulevards," 140; 
during Congress of 1856, 164; the 
Universal Exhibition of 1855, 170; 
reconstruction of, 212; review of 
the troops returned from the 
Italian campaign, 206; during the 
Exhibition of 1867, 218 

Patterson-Bonapartes, 304 

Persigny, M. de, career and character 
of, 60; his activity in the cause of 
Prince Louis, 61 ; takes part in the 
Boulosne expedition, 89; at the 
coup d'etat, 135 

Pianori, attempt on the life of Na- 
poleon, 180 

Pius IX, Pope, 189, 197 

Plebiscite for the Second Empire, 144; 
on the Constitution of May, 1870, 

233 ,^ 
Plombieres, compact of, 182 
Prince Imperial, see Napoleon, Prince 

Eugene Louis 
Provisional Government of 1848, 118 
Prussia, reorganization of her army, 
243 ; jealousy of Austria, 246; ne- 
gotiations with France, 246; pre- 



paring for war with Austria, 247; 
alliance with Italy, 247; war with 
Austria, 247J victories of, 247; ad- 
mitted to the Paris Congress, 250; 
conduct of during Italian war, 251; 
the Emperor's sympathy with, 259 

Recamier, Mme., 54 

Reichstadt, Due de, 50, 51 

Reviews of 1855 and 1859, 206, 207 

Revolution of 1848, 118 

Rome, King of. See Reichstadt, Due 

de (Napoleon II) 
Rouher, M., 140 
Rueil, tombs of the Empress Josephine 

and Queen Hortense in the church 

of, 25, 47 
Russell, Lord John, 204 
Russia. See Nicholas, Alexander II, 

Crimean War 

Saint-Amaud, General (Marshal), 132, 
140 

Saint-Cloud, Queen Victoria at, 171 

Saint Helena, 35, 93 

Saint-Leu, Duchess of. See Hortense, 

Queen, Leu, Saint- 
Saint-Pol, Count de, and the fortress 
of Ham, 95 

Sardinia, joins the Anglo-French al- 
liance, 161, 176; alliance with 
France, 184; the question of dis- 
armament, 184; invaded by Aus- 
tria, 185; campaign in Lombardy, 
185; annexes Tuscany and Mo- 
dena, 187. See Italy 

Savoy and Nice, cession of, 193, 196 

Schleswig-Holstein question. See 
Denmark 

Schwarzenberg, Prince, 25 

Scott, General, 70 

Sebastopol. See Crimean War 

Sedan, capitulation of, 286 

Sismondi, M., letter to Prince Louis 
Napoleon, 103 

Solferino, battle of. See Italy 

Sophie, Queen of Holland, letters to 
Napoleon III, 258 

Soult, Marshal, 22, 125 



n3473 



INDEX 



Spain, the HohenzoUern candidature 

for the throne of, 262 
Steinmetz, General, 275 
Stephanie, Grand Duchess, 28, 208 
Strasbourg, Prince Louis Napoleon's 

expedition against, 65, 68 

Talisman of Charlemagne, 84 
Talleyrand, M. de, 19, 44 
Thelin, C, 71, 216 
Thiers, M., 116, 144, 227, 229, 258, 

293 
Thouvenel, M., 191, 194, 199, 200 
Thun, Prince Louis Napoleon at the 

camp of, 37 
Trochu, General, 280 
Tuileries, 215, 310-312 
Turgor, Marquis de, 139 

United States, Prince Louis Napole- 
on's visit to, 69-74 

Vaudrey, Colonel (one of the Stras- 
bourg conspirators), 62, 65, (^ 

Vendome Column, the, 43, 103 

Venetia, ceded to Italy, 248 

Verhuel calumny, 14-15 

Veron, Dr., 133 

Victor Emmanuel, 176, 203, 205, 219 

Victoria, Queen, visit of the Emperor 
and Empress to, 164; invests the 
Emperor with the Garter, 165; re- 
turn visit to the Emperor, 170; her 
description of Paris, 171; enthusi- 
asm of her reception, 171; state ball 
at Versailles, 172; conversations with 



the Emperor, 173; return to Eng- 
land and reflections on the visit, 173; 
on the Emperor's private rooms in 
the Tuileries, 216; her suspicions 
of the Emperor, 234 

Vieillard, M., 37, 98, 114, 145 

Villafranca, peace of, 186 

Voirol, General (commandant of 
Strasbourg), 62 

Walewski, Comte, 190 

Warsaw interview, 203 

Webb, General J. W., 70; his ac- 
count of Prince Napoleon in 
America, 71; negotiates withdrawal 
of French troops from Mexico, 242 

Wellington, Duke of, 85 

Wilhelmshohe, prison of Napoleon III, 
290; his life at, 291 

William, Prince Regent (King) of 
Prussia, visit to Saint-Leu, 23 j 
meeting with the French Emperor, 
210; at Paris during the Exhibition 
of 1867, 219; announces the re- 
organization of the army, 244; in- 
terviews with M. Benedetti, 264; 
refuses guarantees demanded by 
France, 265; his last words to 
Benedetti, 266; meeting with the 
French Emperor at Sedan, 290 

WimpfFen, General, 284; in capacity 
of, 285; summons a council of war» 
288; capitulates, 288 

Windsor, the Emperor and Empress 
of the French at, 165 

Zurich, treaty of, 191 



n348a 



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ll«IIIWiK,.,9,f. CONG ™ 



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